Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the Major League Baseball season was delayed. It’s been just over a week since Opening Day, and the league is already dealing with an outbreak of the virus.
The outbreak started with the Miami Marlins, who have now had 21 people test positive. MLB has postponed all Marlins games through Sunday, and the current plan is for the team to resume play on Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles.
The St. Louis Cardinals have had four positive COVID-19 tests of their own, resulting in the postponement of their game against the Milwaukee Brewers. In total, 17 MLB games have been postponed in the past 10 days.
So what should MLB do about the outbreak? Since people from more than one team have contracted the virus, the rest of the season should be cancelled. However, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred isn’t currently willing to consider that option.
“We are playing,” Manfred told ESPN’s Karl Ravech. “The players need to be better, but I am not a quitter in general and there is no reason to quit now. We have had to be fluid, but it is manageable.”
On Saturday, Manfred admitted there’s a possibility that not every team will play all 60 games.
While the situation may be manageable now, what happens when more teams report new cases? Also, what Manfred told Ravech contradicts what he said on Friday.
On Friday, Manfred warned MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark that he could shut down the season if the league doesn’t do a better job managing the spread of the virus.
While the league is trying to determine the cause of the outbreak, the players and Manfred both share the blame.
Players have been shown high-fiving each other, spitting, and not wearing masks, which has led government officials to question how seriously they’re taking protocol, sources told ESPN. Manfred, on the other hand, should have cancelled the season when he had the chance. The pandemic hasn’t gotten any better, and he needs to shut down the season before the league’s outbreak worsens.
Hopefully, Roger Goodell and the NFL will see what is happening in baseball and cancel the upcoming NFL season.
