‘Well, That Was a Nice 3 Game Baseball Season’: Fans Worry MLB Could Shut Down After Virus Forces Game Cancellations
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After just three games, fans of Major League Baseball are worried its already shortened season may come to an end.
On Monday, two games were canceled following the league’s first major outbreak in the Miami Marlins organization. The Marlins home-opener was postponed after the team found 14 Covid-19 new cases in the last two days. Still, Miami played the Phillies on Sunday despite four players initially testing positive, prompting Philadelphia and the New York Yankees to cancel their Monday matchup, as well.
Unlike other major leagues, MLB is forcing teams to travel in the shortened 60-game season. More than half of the league’s team have dealt with coronavirus cases, even some on Opening Day, but have continued to play. The NBA employs a bubble where players and personnel are limited to its headquarters in Orlando and the NHL recently announced no new Covid-19 cases over the last week.
While baseball have access to rapid testing with quick results, some have worried that travel could create a spike in cases around the league quickly. MLB has not provided any new plans after the recent cancellations, but speculation has already started.
Just a reminder that, if we can’t make baseball work, how the hell are schools gonna be safe?
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) July 27, 2020
Baseball is dead. Who called it? This guy. I called it. https://t.co/Blw1FRIy7r
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 27, 2020
Baseball lasted one week can we please admit this is a problem now?
— “Call For Location” is out NOW (@JubileeDJ) July 27, 2020
The whole idea of MLB’s COVID protocol is to have fewer players test positive than there would be without baseball.
If the penalty for a team defying protocols in this manner was losing a week of all shared revenues, I think you’d see Marlins take it more seriously.
— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) July 27, 2020
Well that was a nice 3 game baseball season. America is too immature right now to deal with a pandemic with a 99.9% recovery rate, so the fun must end! Better luck next year!
— Jordan Schachtel (@JordanSchachtel) July 27, 2020
if this is a thought you had AFTER an outbreak, it means MLB was never prepared. https://t.co/Tr5EU0Ocf4
— Jen Ramos ??, calling acab | black lives matter (@jenmacramos) July 27, 2020
First time the @Marlins have led @MLB in a “stat” in a very long time….. https://t.co/OMq6oEUWjO
— Pablo Alsina (@PabloAlsina) July 27, 2020
The MLB after refusing a bubble model and proper health precautions before starting the season pic.twitter.com/fAHDmIaY2a
— B. W. Carlin (@BaileyCarlin) July 27, 2020
Everyone (rightfully) critiquing how baseball rolled out their soon-to-be-abbreviated season ought to be staring daggers at the NFL, whose plan amounts to, “We’re football. Nothing can stop us.”
— Kenny Herzog (@KennyHerzog) July 27, 2020
A “material change in circumstances” happened before the season even started – in Miami among other places. MLB should have acted then. https://t.co/xr6T98Mxxb
— John Lott (@LottOnBaseball) July 27, 2020
It was fun to pretend we could just talk about normal baseball things for a few days.
— Sweeny Murti (@YankeesWFAN) July 27, 2020
MLB and the players’ union made the mutual decision to try to play a season this year, and those two entities share the ethical responsibility of pausing, postponing or cancelling if that’s what is in the best interests of players and staffers. The Marlins’ situation tests this.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 27, 2020
Welp, I enjoyed MLB’s “Remember Baseball?” 2020 showcase. See you next year, maybe?
— Jason Fry (@jasoncfry) July 27, 2020
