Players’ concern over COVID-19
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – In MLB clubhouses, there is more fear about the plunging stock market than contracting coronavirus (COVID-19).
There is more dark humor about getting two weeks off from spring training if diagnosed with it than anyone worrying about becoming gravely ill. There are more jokes about the comfort of hanging out in a clubhouse without reporters than any seriousness about wanting them kicked out forever.
“I think with the access you guys are given and how good it is for the game the stories you guys write, whether good or bad,” Diamondbacks closer Archie Bradley said, “it keeps people informed. And to limit that, I think, is not good for the game, or you guys in general.”
Yet with the coronavirus spreading, MLB joined the NBA, NHL and MLS closing clubhouses to reporters and visitors. Late Tuesday afternoon, the Big West Conference announced that its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments would be played without spectators in Southern California. Not long later, the Mid-American Conference announced a “restricted” crowd policy with only family members and event personnel. Hours earlier, the Ivy League had canceled its tournaments.
Tuesday was the first time the MLB policy was implemented throughout
spring training camps in Arizona and Florida, with players talking to reporters only outside the clubhouse and advised to stand at least 6 feet away.
“It’s a little weird,” Bradley said. “Less crowded for sure. It’s one of those weird things where some of us are just now growing up and realizing what’s happening.”
Several players said they would support the baseball writers’ efforts to return to the clubhouse once things settle down. They prefer the locker room be open, knowing the interaction helps promote the sport, permitting fans to get to know them through the media.
“I’d say a vast majority of the stories involve nuance, emotion, personal relations,” Reds first baseman Joey Votto said. “Even if they’re incorrect, a perception of how someone reacted or how a player reacted can be told through facial expressions, getting to know that person and tone. I think that if you don’t have that on a daily basis, you don’t get to share those insights.
“Frankly, most fans don’t care about the balls and strikes and runs ... they care about the person. They want to feel like they’re close to the performer in any sport. I think everyone in the media is the bridge that connects the athlete with the public, and without that close proximity, I don’t personally think you get the human component.”
Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper told reporters, “You guys have a job to do. We have to understand you have to do a job. We need to talk to you. … I think we’re all in uncharted territory. We’ve never seen this. We’ve never done this. I think everybody is trying to do what is right.”
The biggest nuisance with MLB’s new policy, the players will tell you, is that their children also are prohibited from clubhouses. The biggest concern? Their stock market investments are taking a massive tumble. Their biggest fear? Playing games in empty stadiums, or having games canceled.
The players can handle strange, even joking among themselves that it felt nice being able to suit up for games without a reporter asking a question. They just don’t want calamity. “I think as long as this this doesn’t progress and start to get worse,” Bradley said, “all of us are like, ‘All right, this is going to blow over and we’ll get back to doing things normally the way we do.’ But I think there is a, you know, a little bit of fear that this could progress and become something bigger.”
Said Rockies outfielder David Dahl: “This is a real thing that’s happening. I feel bad for people that have gotten the virus, for people who have passed away from it. It’s something where you have to take caution. It definitely sucks.”
The baseball games will go on. Well, at least, for now.
It already has turned the sports world upside down.
❚ The professional baseball leagues in Japan and South Korea have been postponed until at least April.
❚ The pro tennis tournament in Palm Springs, California, was canceled.
❚ The NCAA women’s basketball tournament at Stanford and three Sharks’ NHL games are in jeopardy after Santa Clara County announced a ban of all gatherings of at least 1,000 people for the rest of the month.
“You start to get a sense of how it’s affecting the world,” Bradley said, “and you just think about other things. You think about your job and baseball, but you also think about money. Is the season going to get shut down? I know that’s a crazy thought, but I read something they’re talking about canceling the Olympics. It starts affecting everyday life, not just baseball, but the whole world.
“You look at what’s happening in the stock market. Look what’s happening with the trade overseas. And people not being able to travel. It kind of starts to affect everything you do. I think the biggest thing is to keep it in perspective, try to keep it as lighthearted as possible. And not panic, not freak out.”