Baseball Outbreak Is 'Off-the-Charts Bad'

A consensus has emerged since the coronavirus outbreak on the Miami Marlins that caused four MLB teams to sit out Monday. "This is bad, really bad, and it will get worse," Tim Brown writes on Yahoo Sports. "My level of concern went from an 8 to a 12," said the manager of the Nationals, who are scheduled to go to Miami this week. "This is off-the-charts bad," said Emory University epidemiologist Zachary Binney, per the Washington Post. Baseball is only a few days into its pandemic-shortened, 60-game season. "This was always my concern," Binney said. "I anticipated an outbreak on a team, especially on a team from a city with a high incidence of the virus." Miami and all of Florida have been hit hard, and the toll has been climbing. Major League Baseball hasn't said anything about giving up on the season, saying that the outbreak hit only one team.

"Hopefully they make the right decision," said the Nationals' Dave Martinez. "That's all I'm going to say." The NBA established a bubble for its players, and the NHL set up hubs in two cities. Baseball, Brown points out, made more players available to take the place of those who fall ill. Already, MLB is down to 29 teams; Binney said he'd recommend having the Marlins sit out for two weeks. Also, more players could opt out of the season. And if the Marlins' season is in doubt, so is the league's, per ESPN. The NFL and NCAA football, both planning full seasons this fall, are watching, as well. Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote fans Monday that the NFL still plans a complete season, but the league’s chief medical officer said in an interview that "this is going to be hard." White Sox manager Rick Renteria, who developed a slight cough Monday, is staying away from his team until he's been tested, per the AP. (More Major League Baseball stories.)