Marlins Season Suspended After Outbreak Roils Baseball Schedule
Those flying in from high-risk states would be transported directly from the plane to a quarantine hotel.
(Bloomberg) -- The Miami Marlins season has been paused until at least next week after Covid-19 infected players and staff, disrupting games for the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies and sending the league scrambling to adjust.
Marlins games against the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals had already been postponed, according to reports. And because the Marlins played the Phillies over the weekend -- potentially exposing them -- a Philadelphia series against the New York Yankees has been pushed back as well.
The Yankees will now play the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Wednesday and Thursday, according to Major League Baseball.
“The difficult circumstances of one club reinforce the vital need to be diligent with the protocols in all ways, both on and off the field,” the league said in a statement. “The realities of the virus still loom large, and we must operate with that in mind every day. We are confident that clubs and players will act appropriately, for themselves and for others, and the data provides reason to believe that the protocols can work effectively.”
Following news of the postponed Yankees game earlier Tuesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo offered up his state for any teams wanting to play safely.
“We could set up a protocol,” he said.
Those flying in from high-risk states would be transported directly from the plane to a quarantine hotel, where they would be tested, he said. Those who test negative would be allowed to play.
“You can only come in to play ball, and you must agree before you come to a mandatory quarantine in a hotel,” he said. “It would be great for the economy. It would be great for the morale. It would be great for the psyche for this state and the country.”
The Phillies, who played their first series of the season against the Marlins over the weekend, had already put off their scheduled Monday game against the Yankees. No one in the Phillies organization is known to have tested positive for the coronavirus, but the Marlins have had 17 players and staff test positive over the last five days.
The Marlins canceled their home opener in Miami on Monday and were in Philadelphia ahead of a now-scrubbed Wednesday game against the Orioles in Baltimore. Phillies players and team employees were asked to report to the stadium Monday to be tested.
The Yankees were told their game was canceled out of “an abundance of caution,” according to ESPN.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, told ABC on Tuesday that the MLB season may be in peril.
“I don’t believe they need to stop, but we just need to follow this and see what happens with other teams on a day-by-day basis,” Fauci said in an interview on “Good Morning America.”
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.