Ford knows what Yanks have to do

Mike Ford understands the risks and issues of this attempt to play a 60-game regular season in a pandemic very well. He comes from a family of physicians, so Ford went into this with a good understanding.

“Honestly just take some precautions,” Ford said. “But at the end of the day, it’s our job. Not comparing it to the flu, but we’ve had a lot of circumstances where guys get the flu throughout the year and it’s kind of handled very differently, obviously, because it has to be. … If we’re taking the precautions in the clubhouse, and just kind of doing our part at home, maybe not going into crowded areas, not getting into more interactions with people. That was mainly their advice.

“Luckily, everyone in the clubhouse, I don’t know everyone’s medical history, but everyone is at least a younger and healthier human being, a professional athlete. So I think we’ll be okay, especially if everyone does their part and just takes some precautions.”

The Yankees had a very vivid reminder of the consequences of playing in a pandemic this week. Aroldis Chapman tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday, so they are now without an All-Star closer just 10 days away from the regular-season opener. The Bombers are also still without DJ LeMahieu and Luis Cessa, who both tested positive for the virus before traveling to New York for the reboot of spring training.

Still, Ford was pretty optimistic about MLB getting through this and knows that staying healthy will be an even bigger advantage this season.

“I think personally I’m more worried about positive tests and All Stars being out for two weeks to be totally honest with you,” Ford said. “We have such a talented lineup in there that we all have to do our part.

“I think that will be one of the bigger advantages to teams that do it better than others this year. So I think that’s very important,” Ford continued. “I mean, on the spread in the clubhouse, we’re doing everything we can. We really are. We’re taking it very seriously and so is the staff and you know, support staff, clubhouse to food room to everything. If we If we can limit interactions, and contact trace who kind of was around, you know, the person that might have gotten sick that day, you can limit your exposure a little bit.

“It’s a chance and it’s a risk that we’re taking to play just like a lot of other jobs did throughout this whole quarantine and (we’re) very thankful for all those people that work throughout this, provided food for everyone, doctors, nurses,” Ford continued. “We can’t thank those people that were working the front line the whole time (enough), but I think it’s time to get going. And I think we’re ready to honestly.”