Manfred insists MLB can get through season
He cautions, everyone must do ‘what they are supposed to do’
NEW YORK — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says he’s confident his sport can get through the regular season and postseason without being stopped by the coronavirus, though not every team might play all 60 games and winning percentage could be used to determine playoff teams.
During an interview Saturday with The Associated Press, Manfred said Major League Baseball knows which player introduced COVID-19 into the clubhouse of the Marlins. Miami and Philadelphia both postponed games for an entire week.
“I think that if everybody does what they are supposed to do, we can continue to play, have a credible season and get through the postseason,” Manfred said.
Just 1½ weeks into a pandemic-delayed regular season shortened from 162 games per team to 60, the coronavirus has forced 17 postponements in 10 days and prompted at least two more players to opt out Saturday: Milwaukee All-Star outfielder Lorenzo Cain and Miami second baseman Isan Díaz.
At least 18 Marlins players have been infected along with two St. Louis Cardinals.
Manfred had what he said was a constructive conversation Friday with union head Tony Clark, and expects stepped-up efforts by players and teams to adhere to special virus protocols put in place by MLB and the players’ association.
“It is what the public health experts have been
saying from the beginning about this, that there is no one big magic fix,” Manfred said.
“The protocols are a series of little things that people need to do. We’ve had some problems. In order to be better, it’s another series of little things. I think it’s peer pressure. I think it’s players taking personal responsibility. I think it’s the union helping us … and I think it’s us managing more aggressively,” he said.
Still, he does expect more issues. Miami, which last played July 26 at Philadelphia, was set to resume its schedule Tuesday at Baltimore. The Phillies are due back Monday at Yankee Stadium.
“Once you have somebody who starts producing the virus, what seemed like harmless protocol code violations become serious issues,” Manfred said.
A Cardinals-Brewers game in Milwaukee was postponed for the second straight day. After two St. Louis players tested positive, the entire team was given rapids tests Friday and saliva samples were sent to an MLB laboratory that indicated a third player and multiple staff members may be positive. Results of PCR saliva tests were not expected to be available until later Saturday.
MLB-mandated monitors have been accompanying teams on the road since Wednesday in an effort to cause stricter adherence to the protocols.
Given all the schedule changes, MLB is considering whether active rosters should remain at 30 rather than decrease to 28 on Thursday, as scheduled.