What happens if an MLB player tests positive on the road? | The Athletic ($)
With Opening Day just ONE day away now, the reality of a real 2020 baseball season has sunk in for both fans and players. The reality of the risks that come with the season are also sinking in as well. The Athletic’s Molly Knight details the protocols that will be put into place should a player test positive for COVID-19 while on the road.
Teams in the AL West and NL West recently participated in a COVID-19 conference call to discuss what actions need to be taken if a player should test positive. General managers, assistant general managers, athletic trainers, traveling secretaries, and doctors from the Mariners, Angels, Rangers, Astros, A’s, Dodgers, Giants, Padres, Rockies and Diamondbacks were on the call.
The consensus of the call was that if a player should test positive on the road and have to quarantine, the home team/market would take care of the player and treat him as “one of their own,” which would include providing medical care and access to the team’s doctors.
Every Western division team has also put together a resource list for players who may end up quarantined which includes names and contacts for the teams doctors, restaurants that deliver and nearby hospitals.
The Rockies are among the five teams that will be traveling the most from the West division this season. Each team will play 30 games at home and 30 games on the road, but the West teams will travel more miles than others divisions.
Like most of the 2020 season, we will have to wait and see what happens should this type of problem arise for teams and players, but hey! Happy almost Opening Day!
Rookie’s dad, fighting ALS, to attend opener | MLB
With so much not-so-good going on in the world right now, here’s some light for you. MLB’s Thomas Harding tells the story of how the Texas Rangers came together to help rookie Sam Hilliard’s dad attend his son’s first Major League opener on Friday at new Globe Life Field.
Hilliard’s father, Jim Hilliard is currently battling ALS, which is a neuromuscular disease.
“It was a conversation of cries and just relief. We haven’t seen each other for a while. We’re all really happy to reunite,” Hilliard said of his parents being able to see him play.
Manager Bud Black is happy to see Hilliard have his parents attending Opening Day:
“It’s part of what makes this game great, for his family to be a part of their son coming back home and playing against the team he grew up rooting for,” Black said. “We all know his dad’s situation. It’s rough. But it’s a gentle moment. It’s really cool.”
Hilliard ended last season with a .273 batting average, seven home runs and 14 RBIs in 27 games. During the shutdown, Hilliard continued to train in Scottsdale, Arizona until the eventually moved his training to Denver.