After Marlins outbreak, Red Sox address their concerns about going on the road
The Red Sox are scheduled to travel to both New York and Florida -- a former and current hotspot for COVID-19.
After 19 members of the Miami Marlins tested positive for COVID-19 and their season has reportedly been paused, concerns continue to rise within Major League Baseball. On Monday, MLB canceled the scheduled games between the Marlins and the Orioles, as well as the matchup between the Yankees and the Phillies.
While commissioner Rob Manfred “remains optimistic” that the protocols the league put in place will allow the season to continue, the Red Sox have had to re-evaluate their seven-game road trip to two different major cities: first to New York — where they will take on the Mets and the Yankees — and then to St. Petersburg, Fla., for games against the Rays.
Alarmingly, Florida currently ranks second in having the most reported total cases of COVID-19 ( 414,511), while New York ranks third with 411,200.
On Monday, the Red Sox hosted a Zoom video call with team doctor Laurence Ronan, head trainer Brad Pearson, and executives and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom to go over their upcoming travel plans, as well as the risks and safety guidelines they must follow. Manager Ron Roenicke outlined the team’s plans for players.
“Maybe just try to stay in the hotel, which is what we’ve told them we’d like them to do,” he said. “Just stay there. We’ll have the food for them. We’ll have a big room for them to get their treatments from the medical staff.”
He hopes the situation in Miami “scares them a little bit” to be cautious, but also does not want the players to feel afraid of traveling.
“I don’t want to make them fearful about going on the road, or fearful about playing and continuing on with this because I think we are doing a lot of good things,” he said. “I’m hopeful that [the Marlin’s outbreak] scares them a little bit into, ‘I know we’ve been good at this, but we can be better.’ We can stop fist-bumping and stop doing the things the protocols are trying to get us not to do. I realize the emotions that come into play when you score a run and hit a home run, or you get a big strikeout. I understand all those things but we have to keep reminding guys to try to stay with the things our medical department has said will keep us safe.”
Although he understands the difficulty for players to stay confined, he stressed the importance.
“Hopefully it reminds them in a good way to be safe, follow the protocols, to not go out,” he said. “I know it’s difficult. I know when you’re young, it’s difficult to be locked in your hotel room and doing nothing but also that they realize we’ve got 60 games and we need to try to do everything we can to stay healthy and to eventually win as many games as you can.”
The Red Sox, however, have enacted their own safety protocols while traveling. Assistant general manager Raquel Ferreira said that the team’s staff have been prepping for the trip for the past two months. The team has enacted extra safety protocols, such as pre-packaged meals, hand sanitizer, and traveling in a 757 plane that has 187 seats (versus their Delta-72 seater) to allow for players and staff to safely spread out.
All luggage will be sanitized as it travels from Fenway to the plane, hotel, and then at each ballpark.
Meanwhile, sentiments amongs both current and former players have been mixed regarding how the league has handled player safety. Former Red Sox pitcher and current Dodger David Price tweeted on Monday that it was part of his reasoning for opting out of the 2020 season.
Now we REALLY get to see if MLB is going to put players health first. Remember when Manfred said players health was PARAMOUNT?! Part of the reason I’m at home right now is because players health wasn’t being put first. I can see that hasn’t changed.
— David Price (@DAVIDprice24) July 27, 2020
“Now we REALLY get to see if MLB is going to put players health first,” Price tweeted. “Remember when Manfred said players health was PARAMOUNT?! Part of the reason I’m at home right now is because players health wasn’t being put first. I can see that hasn’t changed.”
Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi stressed the importance of following safety guidelines as the team continues to compete.
“You’ve got to wear your mask and keep your distance as safe as possible,” said Benintendi. “That’s the second-most important thing we could do right now opposed to winning baseball games.”
The Sox and Mets are scheduled to play Tuesday night at Citi Field. The Yankees series would start Friday, while the Sox and Rays would kick off their matchups on Tuesday, August 4.
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