Astros ace to donate pay to COVID-19 relief

LOS ANGELES: Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander said he plans to donate his pay to COVID19 relief efforts during baseball’s shutdown. In a post on Instagram, Verlander and his wife Kate Upton said they had decided to give his paycheques to a different organization each week as baseball awaits the start of the season.

The 2020 Major League Baseball season was due to get under way on March 26 but was suspended before a single pitch had been tossed as the coronavirus pandemic erupted.

“(Kate Upton) and I have decided to donate those funds to a different organization each week so that we can support their efforts and highlight the great work they’re doing during the COVID-19 crisis,” Verlander said.

“Everyone around the world is affected by this virus, and we hope to contribute to the families and jobs affected, the healthcare workers and first responders on the front lines and the many others in need of basic necessities, medical supplies and support at home.”

USA Today reported that Verlander would be paid $4,773 per day for 60 days of the shutdown, or $286,980.

Major League Baseball is considering the use of spring training sites to start the 2020 regular season, most likely in Arizona, with the players quarantined and no fans in the stands, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported.

MLB pushed back its scheduled March 26 start date because of the coronavirus pandemic and hasn’t set a new date for Opening Day as it weighs its options.

While extending the season until Thanksgiving and playing multiple doubleheaders are options discussed between MLB and the players union, Rosenthal said games in Florida and Arizona also are possible.

Arizona would be more likely logistically because the spring training sites are closer together, but it still presents a problem to house all 30 teams in one area. Rosenthal added the plan could be “potentially controversial, sources say, requiring local, state and federal government cooperation and resources that might be necessary to fight the coronavirus pandemic.”

Rosenthal said there is some worry that despite being isolated from the public, players could be exposed to the coronavirus from a hotel worker, for example, who leaves the property and encounters someone with the disease.

While MLB had hoped for a mid-May start, that is unlikely. There are social distancing guidelines in place through the end of April and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended against gatherings of 50 or more through at least May 10.

With the coronavirus yet to reach its peak in the United States, the CDC could extend that date. As of Saturday, there were more than 290,000 cases and about 8,000 deaths in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University. —Agencies