McCullers disagrees with decision to play
Union rep wanted postponement after loss of players due to protocols
Lance McCullers Jr. questioned Major League Baseball’s decision to proceed with the Astros’ scheduled game against the Detroit Tigers despite missing five players due to health and safety protocols.
“I’ll just say that we felt that it would have been better if we weren’t there today,” said McCullers, the Astros’ player representative to the union. “We felt that would have been the smartest thing to do, but we were overruled.”
Four hours before first pitch, the Astros placed Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman, Martin Maldonado and Robel Garcia on the injured list for “health and safety protocols.” The five players who replaced them arrived at Minute Maid Park less than an hour before first pitch. Two of them — Ronnie Dawson and Abraham Toro — started the 6-4 loss to the Tigers.
Astros general manager James Click said the team consulted with Major League Baseball all morning about the game’s viability. Click said the club “respected” the league’s decision to play the game.
“They don’t believe there is a health and safety reason not to play,” Click said.
McCullers’ duties as the Astros’ player rep necessitated he be in on the conversations. Major League Baseball has postponed only four games this season due to COVID-19 circumstances — the Washington Nationals’ season-opening series against the New York Mets. Four Nationals players tested positive for the virus. When Washington finally did open its season, it had nine players on the COVID-19 injured list.
“I don’t really understand why we played tonight, quite honestly,” McCullers said. “Seems like the rules are different for different teams depending on who it is based on the COVID issues. A lot of questions and things we have to get figured out as a team and hopefully we do.”
Click could not say whether the Astros have a positive test or offer a timetable for the return of his five isolated players. They will not travel with the team on Thursday to Seattle, manager Dusty Baker said.
McCullers revealed he played despite side effects from the since-paused Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Baker said McCullers required IV fluids after the game. Baker intimated that McCullers did not inform the team of his illness until after the game.
“He didn’t tell anybody.
Lance is a warrior,” Baker said. “But he was sick, sick as a dog. His legs were wobbly. He couldn’t hardly catch his breath. Hopefully he’ll be well and much better the next start.”
McCullers said he received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine “a few days back” and “got hit pretty hard” by the adverse effects. The Centers for Disease Control and Food and Drug Administration paused all Johnson & Johnson vaccines on Monday after a “rare and severe type of blood clot” was reported in six patients who took the injection.
McCullers said he was “pretty ill” for the first “few” days after his vaccination, but did not want to ascribe his pitching troubles on Wednesday to the sickness. McCullers lasted just 3⅔ innings and yielded six earned runs.
“It’s not really an excuse. I felt fine,” McCullers said. “Just been feeling under the weather. Haven’t really been 100 (percent) and been able to do my normal stuff. Still felt like I was going to be able to throw the ball well and give us a good chance to win, but unfortunately it didn’t go that way. Get back to it, get to the drawing board and be better the next time out.”