Players react to week of ‘ups and downs’
The Marlins had seven games postponed after 18 players and other team personnel tested positive for COVID-19.
As the Miami Marlins — or some alternate version of them — prepared to resume their schedule Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles, they stressed that their focus is back on the game itself, having moved beyond the COVID-19 delay of the season.
After a coronavirus outbreak ran rampant through the team that forced the postponement of seven games, the Marlins must move on without 18 players from their opening day roster and one who opted out of the season (starting second baseman Isan Diaz).
Those who tested positive were eventually sent back to Miami from Philadelphia in a bus, where they’ll remain until they qualify to be taken off the injured list. The Marlins’ Leadership Council — shortstop Miguel Rojas, catcher Jorge Alfaro, Opening Day starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara, outfielder Corey Dickerson and relief pitcher Brandon Kintzler — gathered on the team’s YouTube page to reflect on an unprecedented week and how they plan on moving forward.
“It’s a lot of ups and downs,” Kintzler said. “I think in the beginning of it, it was like, ‘OK, we’ll be here a couple days.’ And then, I was able to get some workouts in my room, throw bullpens against a mattress. I was trying to just stay active. And then Wednesday we found out we weren’t leaving [until] Sunday. I think I just started to lose my mind.”
Dickerson added that the players have been holed up in their rooms for “23.5 hours a day,” and are having to find creative ways to stay in some semblance of shape.
Of the three in the the Leadership Council that tested positive (Alcantara, Rojas and Alfaro), Rojas was the only one to show symptoms. He said he’s finally on the mend after multiple days of fighting the illness.
“I had a couple rough days when I was in Philadelphia,” Rojas said. “It was tough when I started feeling the fever and sore throat, headache and other kind of stuff. But I’m finally feeling a little bit better and hopefully I can get this negative test soon so I can rejoin the group.”
As positive test results continued to mount, players naturally wondered whether they would be next. Kintzler watched as all but four members of the bullpen tested positive. He assumed he’d be next. Dickerson saw Rojas and Alfaro, both in his batting practice grouping, test positive. He waited up each night worrying he’d get the call in the morning that he, too, had the virus.
“Every night you’re on pins and needles, can’t sleep, like, ‘Am I gonna get that phone call?’ ” Dickerson said. “But like you said, we’re hitting in that group with Alfaro before the first game, and of course we’re all kind of concerned then. You’re really concerned before that last game, ‘Should we even play that game?’ ”
They ultimately played that game Sunday against the Phillies, a decision made jointly by the two organizations and the league. By midday Monday, the team’s season was suspended and the season itself was in peril.
Throughout the 17-minute clip, players underscored the importance for leadership in a moment like this. The team welcomed a host of new players, ranging from call-ups off the Jupiter team to free-agent signings and waiver claims. Manager Don Mattingly mentioned in a press availability Monday that there were players who would be on the roster Tuesday that he’d only met via text.
Team leaders are trying to make the best of the unprecedented situation.
“We’re gonna have the morale be very high-energy when the new guys come, the healthy ones for now,” Kintzler said. “When they get here, hopefully we have a nice team meeting and let them know that we’re playing for the guys that are sick. We’re playing for — a lot of people are counting us out, a lot of people are mad at us. It could be us against the world, that’s fine. I think we really enjoy that situation.”
Moving forward, Rojas expressed gratitude to fans genuinely worried about their well-being. At a time when players are constantly alone, that boost has been necessary.
“We feel alone. We feel isolated, like we are right now,” Rojas said. “We’re isolating because we want to get better and we don’t want to get anybody else infected. But at the same time that warm feeling of our teammates, our community, our fans, is so important.”