Covid and MLB

E5 Yaz

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I'll add the same thing here I did in the NFL thread: It's not so much the players, who presumably are in top shape. It's the managers, coaches and auxiliary personnel that bear watching.

The sight of an older man or two with health issues, hooked up to a ventilator, will get this much closer to the pause button
 

edoug

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On phone so no link but Royals C Salvador Perez has tested positive.
 

Ale Xander

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nattysez

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Catchers are the "least distant" position. Always a batter and always an umpire right next to them. Much different story for OF"s and non-covering MIF's (and DH's)
Also helps Buster that he's got 3 rings, cleared $130m already in his career and is playing for a team that'll only be competitive by luck.
 

amfox1

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That saves the Sox a bit of money, right?
Not sure how will work. BOS was supposed to send LAD $2,666,667 on the 15th of each month from April through September in 2020, 2021 and 2022 as part of the deal, for a total of $48mm (50% of what Price is owed for the remainder of his contract). I assume BOS and LAD will work out the specifics based on what Price is actually paid for the 2020 season. Assume Price makes nothing, I believe BOS will ultimately save $16mm in cash payments.

Price was due to be paid $11.9mm (of $32mm) for the 60-game season before he opted out.
 

jon abbey

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Not sure how will work. BOS was supposed to send LAD $2,666,667 on the 15th of each month from April through September in 2020, 2021 and 2022 as part of the deal, for a total of $48mm (50% of what Price is owed for the remainder of his contract). I assume BOS and LAD will work out the specifics based on what Price is actually paid for the 2020 season. Assume Price makes nothing, I believe BOS will ultimately save $16mm in cash payments.

Price was due to be paid $11.9mm (of $32mm) for the 60-game season before he opted out.
So, really they're saving half of the $11.9M, still nice.
 

edoug

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Catchers are the "least distant" position. Always a batter and always an umpire right next to them. Much different story for OF"s and non-covering MIF's (and DH's)
Yeah, it does make sense. If the season is played, it will be nothing but a clusterf**k anyway.
 

staz

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Catchers are the "least distant" position. Always a batter and always an umpire right next to them. Much different story for OF"s and non-covering MIF's (and DH's)
Wonder if calling balls/strikes from behind the mound was ever seriously discussed. Would make close plays at the plate tricky, I suppose.
 

InsideTheParker

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Good on him. He pitches every fifth day, so maybe 12 starts. He doesn't need the money and more likely the nonsense that is going to follow the season. He's got plenty of money.
You say "good on him" because he's made such much money. Wouldn't it be a more impressive statement from someone who doesn't have so many millions?
 

Gdiguy

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Freeman's wife apparently posted on twitter that he's actually been hit pretty hard

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29409316/freddie-freeman-four-braves-players-test-positive-coronavirus
Snitker said Freeman had a negative intake test early in the week before having a positive test Friday. Snitker said the first baseman has a fever and "is not feeling great."

Freeman's wife, Chelsea, posted on Twitter that he had "body aches, headaches, chills and a high fever.''

"He is someone who literally never gets sick and this virus hit him like a ton of bricks," she said. "We've been really strict for the last 4 months," she wrote. "Haven't gone to a grocery store, haven't gone out to dinner once, haven't seen our friends ... and still got it."
 

Comfortably Lomb

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First Summer Camp highlight I saw last night was Gerrit Cole whiffing a teammate and immediately fist-bumping his 1B, which is of course verboten under league guidance. That's all I need to see: it's not a matter of 'if,' rather 'when' the season gets abandoned.

The only matter left to debate is how much spread will Manfred tolerate before pulling the plug. Unlike the rest of society, MLB has actually set up a decent supply chain of players, but guessing most will never get called up because any appetite for continuation will wash away when the 300th, 400th, 500th player tests positive.

And you just know there'll be that outlier team riding relatively few infections to a gaudy and unexpected 18-12 record, whose fanbase will be PISSED when they shut it down. Maybe from a state that has their COVID shit together, for example.
If you think a fist bump is bad apparently someone needed a birthday party a few weeks ago and spread the virus throughout the clubhouse. I'm sure that is far from the only risky social interaction players have engaged in recently, and it won't be the last. A player can do everything right and is still at the mercy of his teammates off field behavior.
 

YTF

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I can look at the fist bump and think, "OK that's something reactionary that is going to need a greater conscious effort to refrain from." The birthday party is just flat out irresponsible on the part the person who encouraged it as well as those attending. This is exactly the type of thing that much of this country has rallied against in the name of keeping the country safe and healthy.
 

HriniakPosterChild

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If you think a fist bump is bad apparently someone needed a birthday party a few weeks ago and spread the virus throughout the clubhouse. I'm sure that is far from the only risky social interaction players have engaged in recently, and it won't be the last. A player can do everything right and is still at the mercy of his teammates off field behavior.
From the linked article: In order for the 60-game 2020 season to work, just about every player participating needs to be on board with best practices when it comes to health and safety protocols. That seems like a very tall order. Heyman added that a coach he spoke to described baseball clubhouses as akin to frat houses.

Recent article from Seattle:
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/a-covid-19-outbreak-on-uws-greek-row-hints-at-how-hard-it-may-be-to-open-colleges-this-fall/
 

uncannymanny

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Moncada is one of the players I mentioned following on Instagram that was not social distancing. Posted a story of his bday party in June, one portion of which looked like it was only a few guys, but they were inside in his kitchen toasting beers and champagne.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Teams are starting to cancel workouts because they've still not gotten results back on COVID tests taken on Friday. Astros and Nationals are the two I've seen officially confirmed so far. I'm sure it is primarily the system getting overwhelmed because of the surges in the south and southwest, but this doesn't bode well for MLB starting the season. Probably not a good sign for the NBA or NFL either. I feel a bit more confident for the NHL, but only because they're going to be operating in Canada.
 

nattysez

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Teams are starting to cancel workouts because they've still not gotten results back on COVID tests taken on Friday. Astros and Nationals are the two I've seen officially confirmed so far. I'm sure it is primarily the system getting overwhelmed because of the surges in the south and southwest, but this doesn't bode well for MLB starting the season. Probably not a good sign for the NBA or NFL either. I feel a bit more confident for the NHL, but only because they're going to be operating in Canada.
The A's aren't going to work out until this evening (which is the early afternoon, Pacific time) in hopes of getting their results back before then.

View: https://twitter.com/Joelsherman1/status/1280152189445574657
 

Mooch

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Markakis said that he opted out after talking to Freddie Freeman, who is apparently feeling pretty lousy from his COVID infection. I think all sports leagues need to seriously reconsider starting back up again at this point.
 

Kliq

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Nick Markakis opts out of the season.
Nick Markakis' quest to get 3,000 hits and thus creating a fascinating Hall of Fame argument is something I was looking forward to following this year and the years ahead. Clearly, this is a big blow to that.
 

jon abbey

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Nick Markakis' quest to get 3,000 hits and thus creating a fascinating Hall of Fame argument is something I was looking forward to following this year and the years ahead. Clearly, this is a big blow to that.
He’s at 2355 so probably needs 4 full seasons as a starter to get there with or without the 60 he might have gotten this year.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Well, this just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about this season...

View: https://twitter.com/lindseyadler/status/1280513114153390087


"MLB considers Joe West a high-risk individual. He plans to return for this season despite that. 'I don't believe in my heart that all these deaths have been from the coronavirus'."

Good old Cowboy Joe. I assume as a COVID denialist, he'll be anti-mask as well. And umps in masks HAVE to be the standard. Time for MLB to forcibly retire him.
 

Lose Remerswaal

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Well, this just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about this season...

View: https://twitter.com/lindseyadler/status/1280513114153390087


"MLB considers Joe West a high-risk individual. He plans to return for this season despite that. 'I don't believe in my heart that all these deaths have been from the coronavirus'."

Good old Cowboy Joe. I assume as a COVID denialist, he'll be anti-mask as well. And umps in masks HAVE to be the standard. Time for MLB to forcibly retire him.
I wonder if he'll go out there without a mask. Behind home plate.
 

singaporesoxfan

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Well, this just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about this season...

View: https://twitter.com/lindseyadler/status/1280513114153390087


"MLB considers Joe West a high-risk individual. He plans to return for this season despite that. 'I don't believe in my heart that all these deaths have been from the coronavirus'."

Good old Cowboy Joe. I assume as a COVID denialist, he'll be anti-mask as well. And umps in masks HAVE to be the standard. Time for MLB to forcibly retire him.
Yeah from experience Joe West has never been a good judge of whether someone is safe