With the season’s finish line in sight, MLB’s medical director said the outbreaks among the Cardinals and Marlins this summer were a « wake-up call » that ultimately helped the sport
ARLINGTON, Texas – It’s a memorable image of nearly every World Series opener: members of each team standing side by side along the end lines, players in the roster announced one by one. one, managers shaking hands on the floor A celebrity girdles the national anthem as dozens cling to the edges of a giant American flag stretched out on the outfield
None of this happened at the start of the 116th World Series, between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays, at Globe Life Field on Tuesday Even the ceremonial first pitch was delivered in the middle of the outfield, a safe social distance from the pitcher’s mound The anthem played, but only on the scoreboard The roster announcements had all the majesty of a game midweek in April
« We’re so close to the end here, and I think the feeling is that we just don’t want to do anything that would compromise that, » Dr Gary Green, Medical Director of Major League Baseball, said said in an interview « In the regular season you had some flexibility in terms of double titles, or you could move games to the other team’s site, or you could reschedule games – you can’t do that now If we had an outbreak and had to stop for a week or two it would sort of ruin the entire postseason. »
Dr Green spoke on Thursday, between Games 2 and 3 of the World Series, and the next morning MLB made their weekly announcement of the Covid-19 test results – a source of dread weeks ago, now a source of pride The 3,597 control samples collected and tested the previous week had not given any new positive results, the league said, and no player had tested positive for 54 days
In all, there have been 91 new positives – 57 players and 34 staff – among 172,740 tests carried out this season, or 05 percent for a league that has withstood the early outbreaks of 18 positive tests for the Miami Marlins players and 10 for St. Louis Cardinals players, it was a remarkable turnaround that essentially saved the season
« I will appreciate everyone who made this possible for as long as I live, » Rays star Charlie Morton said, later adding: « It’s weird going to the stadium and not seeing the parking lots just full of people and locals TV crews just hanging out, name it It’s weird, it’s sad – but it’s still very exciting «
It’s a fitting slogan for this season: weird, sad, but very exciting There were no fans in the stands except for the crowds limited to the National League Championship Series and the World Series, where Game 1 turnout – 11,388 – was the lowest since Game 6 in 1909, when Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner roamed Bennett Park in Detroit But the games continued and the intensity was real
« I don’t know if you watched Game 7 last night, but it certainly sounded like me in the playoffs, » said Justin Turner of the Dodgers after the NLCS, when a reporter questioned if the games had the usual October emotion « The back and forth, the swinging, the big plays, the big swings, the big pitches – it was as much a playoff feeling as I’ve ever had «
Elsewhere, a brutal offseason has already started, with even big market teams like the Chicago Cubs throwing dozens of layoffsAfter a year of slashed earnings, owners may be reluctant to spend a lot on players agency, which could increase tensions between the league and the players’ union as they enter the final year of their collective agreement
But for now, teams can celebrate the shared success of hosting a season – even with a schedule of just 60 regular season games and neutral venues for three playoffs – at 30 ball parks ( including a minor league stadium) during a pandemic
“The biggest thing that has allowed us to overcome is flexibility and handling uncertainty,” Dr Green said “Sport thrives on certainty and routines, and for players what time they get to the base stadium, everything they go through for their before and after the game – well, we disrupted it all Some teams didn’t find their game had been rescheduled or canceled right before the game, but they were still able to focus on the game and do whatever they needed to do. »
The Marlins’ season took a week-long hiatus after just three games, and the Cardinals missed 16 days after playing just five games.The two teams rallied to make the playoffs expanded and with a creative schedule – y including seven-innings for doubles – all but two Cardinals games have been played
During the Cardinals’ absence, baseball tightened health and safety protocols, expanded mask requirements for players and staff, restricted places players could visit outside of the stadium baseball teams and tasked compliance officers with overseeing clubs and team hotels The feeling of being locked up has affected some players
“I like to go out and clear my mind because baseball is difficult; If you still think about baseball you’re going to go crazy, « said Willy Adames, Rays shortstop. » And if you’re bad you need some fresh air, you need a distraction, go to dinner and you distract your mind This is the hardest part for some of us young people: we love to do all this stuff, and obviously all the protocols we went through, they are hard You have to adapt to them «
The players did, and just as important as the new rules, Dr Green said, was the Marlins and Cardinals’ sobering example of the season’s precariousness.
“One of the things we’ve seen with the virus, not only with baseball but across society, is that it can really find gaps in your coverage,” Dr. Green said. says « We were very lucky at the beginning that we didn’t have a lot of positive cases, and then all of a sudden we had these outbreaks, and I think people were realizing, ‘Hey, these things are here for a long time. reason, and any deviation from that can potentially really destroy the whole season So that was a wake-up call «
Dr Green also said that MLB’s ability of his own lab in Utah to analyze test samples was found to be critical because the methodology was consistent and the lab was able to validate a saliva test
“The nasal swabs aren’t very comfortable,” he said, “and if you’re talking about testing people every other day during the season and every day during the playoffs, the saliva test is a much more acceptable way of doing this «
Players had a powerful financial incentive to follow the rules Their 2020 salaries were prorated based on the truncated schedule, meaning they were earning around 37% of their anticipated earnings before the pandemic The shared sacrifice and particularly close proximity to each other – especially before families were allowed into the post-season secure areas – have brought some teams closer together
« I know we couldn’t be as a family, but I feel like this team is family, » said Mookie Betts of the Dodgers « We spend so much time together in the hotel, here on the pitch, and no one gets tired of each other – we all laugh, joke I couldn’t ask for a better bunch of guys to call the family , man, this is just amazing
« So getting through this season with Covid and the like hasn’t been that bad, because I have these guys »
Los Angeles Dodgers, World Series, Walker Buehler, MLB
News from around the world – United States – Early viral alerts kept MLB Season on track
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
