Major League faces troubles due to COVID-19 pandemic

U.S. Major League Baseball is facing major challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Aftereffects of the epidemics that started in Miami spread to Philadelphia and further to the St. Louis Cardinals that South Korean pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun is affiliated.

The Cardinals planned to play three consecutive away games against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday through Monday. As three players and three staffers of Cardinals tested positive for COVID-19 as of Saturday, the Major League Secretariat cancelled all three games. 　

The Cardinals are the second team that has had six or more confirmed Covid-19 patients in the Big League. Earlier, the Miami Marlins reported a string of confirmed COVID-19 patients, with as many as 21 players and staffers tested positive for the coronavirus. A coach and one ballpark management staff of the Philadelphia Phillies, which played three consecutive opening games against Miami from July 25 to July 27, tested positive for the virus.

The Marlins and the Phillies have not played any single game from Thursday to Saturday. As the Cardinals have also had its games cancelled, the number of Major League games that have failed to take place as scheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic has increased to 33 in total.

With the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases growing, the Major League Secretariat, which vowed not to suspend the season, has changed its stance. “If players fail to follow Covid-19 prevention guidelines, we can suspend the operation of the league,” Major League Commissioner Rob Manfred told its Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark. The Major League Secretariat conducted an internal probe to find cases where the league’s players visited hotel bars and went out of their hotels during away games in violation of the COVID-19 prevention guidelines.


Kyu-In Hwang kini@donga.com