JULY 17: The club has confirmed that it will play its home games at Nationals Park, Dougherty tweets. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Nationals reached a deal with the government. The agreement says players who are exposed to COVID-19 but test negative and are cleared to return will have to quarantine at their residences for 14 days when they’re away from the ballpark. However, they’ll be allowed to play as long as they follow MLB protocols. Those players will also be permitted to play on the road, but they’ll have to stay in their hotel rooms when they’re not at the park.
JULY 16: The reigning World Series champion Nationals are scheduled to start their title defense at home against the Yankees next Thursday, but it’s possible the teams’ series will take part outside of Washington, D.C. Because of coronavirus concerns, the Nationals are exploring alternate sites for the beginning of the season, Jesse Dougherty and Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post report.
According to the health protocols in Washington, any player, coach or staff member who tests positive for COVID-19 would have to quarantine for two weeks. D.C. is not willing to make an exception to the quarantine policy for the Nationals, so the club has begun seeking contingency plans. The Nats’ Single-A stadium in Fredericksburg, Va., as well as their spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., are possibilities, according to Dougherty. Virginia would be the more likely venue, Dougherty suggests.
The coronavirus has had a major impact on the Nationals in recent weeks. Even before this news came about, the club had issues with receiving COVID testing results in a timely manner, and three of their players – Ryan Zimmerman, Joe Ross and Welington Castillo – opted out of the season over health concerns. The problems the Nationals have faced further illustrate how difficult it will be for MLB to pull off a season, even a 60-game version.
Clearly it doesnt matter where they play, seeing we will be watching on TV anyway.
Why isn’t the Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays getting out of Florida?
Yeah, seems like opposite world. Teams should be moving to the venues with the most effective protocols if they want this season to work.
Would be funny news: while MLS and NBA choose to play in Florida, the Florida MLB teams would choose to play elsewhere.
@ Al – no need for rays/marlins to move. Residents of Florida haven’t been willing to go remotely near their stadiums for years before the virus hit.
Yeah, Marlins and Rays have a big advantage over all other clubs – they are used to playing in empty parks. If Florida wasn’t COVID central I’d say they should play there – minimal risk of someone wandering in.
Sadly Florida has 316k cases so far (Canada with a bigger population has just 109k). Yeah, we had more deaths up here but that was due to a big outbreak at the start in nursing homes (the way to guarantee a high death count). There is a reason the NHL is playing all its games up here.
Ouch. There’s no vaccine for that burn.
Covid central is New York, not Florida.
Florida has 22 mill people and covers 65,000 square miles. That’s 338 people per square mile.
Canada has 38 million people and covers 3.9 million square miles. That’s close to 10 people per square mile.
Wyoming you have to factor in a HUGE chunk of Canada is wide open. Very few people live on the northern half of the country.
With Governor Cuomo saying that people travelling into NY from Coronavirus hot zones should quarantine for like 10-14 days how does that allow the Yankees and Mets to travel in and out of the state (or Toronto if they are based in Buffalo) and have teams travel in and out to play them?)
How about NY? Just be the home team. Or did you need cameras? lol.
All I get out of this is BASEBALL STARTS AGAIN IN ONE WEEK.
Sorry for the upper case, but I can hardly wait.
Fredricksburg used to have a Fuddrucker’s. If it still does, the players will enjoy that when they aren’t holed up in their Motel 6.
They can’t play in Baltimore?
They definitely have a Sonics.
The Nationals and the Orioles are not exactly on friendly terms, so Baltimore is very unlikely.
Back to Montreal…? Welcome back, Expos!
Montreal. Bring back the Expos at least for an opener!
Montreal accounts for over a quarter of the country’s Covid-19 count. The Province of Quebec accounts for over 60% of the total deaths in the country.
There is a reason Montreal wasn’t picked to be an NHL hub city. Hard pass on your idea.
Yikes. I mean I was joking, but yeah. Terrible idea. Wasn’t aware how bad things were in that area. Apologies.
Of course, Quebec (the province Montreal is in) as a whole has under 150 cases a day at the moment – just a bit better than Florida is doing.
Florida has a low death rate which is what we should be focused on. By your logic they shouldn’t play in New York with over 32,000 deaths. I see you aren’t talking about it because you’re being fed the Florida crap in Canada like I am. Yet stats show 7 states ahead of them in death count, including Michigan, Illinois, Cali and Penn. Somehow Florida is doing worse?
Per capita, Florida ranks 25th in death rate. Yet you’re going to keep suggesting Florida in your takes? Friendly advice from one Canadian to another: stop watching Canadian news and look at actual stats. Like baseball, they matter.
Sadly, some states that you mentioned had governors who forced covid patients into nursing homes and put many elderly lives at risk and killed many due to their incompetence. Cali, NY, Michigan Penn, and New Jersey, all run by democrats, should see their governors impeached and held accountable. Here in cali we had businesses closed for the 4th….. except Newsome’s winery was allowed to stay open.
They won’t be impeached but I agree with you. Florida is being targeted because, and I apologize in-advance, it is a swing state the media wants to push to swing blue in November. The 100% testing story in Florida has been buried because it was not true.
Canada is lucky. Nobody travels to Canada before April unless it’s Banff, Whistler or Quebec City to ski. We are not a tourist destination in the winter. America is, and it’s not shocking to see Canada going somewhat unscathed in this pandemic.
Border still closed until mid August..
+1 Fredericksburg. That would be awesome if the real Nats played there before the minor league team does.
Reminds me of droit du seigneur (“lord’s right”) or jus primae noctis (“right of the first night”) – for all those that have seen BRAVEHEART.
What’s wrong with living there?
Thank you.
Would be fun to have them play in Norfolk. Close proximity to DC, beautiful stadium, and they were a finalist for the franchise prior to them heading to DC anyways. Bonus, Zim is from the 757 Area and seeing how he is Mr. National that would be cool for him!
Of course Norfolk is also the AAA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Don’t think the Orioles would allow it
im pretty sure the league would make them if that was the best option.
There’s no MILB season so why it matter? The facility is truly gorgeous and was THE standard for minor league yards for several years and has really held up well through its 27 years! This was just a fun idea that I wanted to enjoy before the season gets postponed, delayed, or cancelled. I think this is a real throw back situation with these current players to there AAU days when there was no real fan base and they just played to compete and get recruited. Similar to the NBA and there bubble they’re taking it as a trip down memory lane to AAU days. Wake up, Ball out, Return to Hotel.
I think the Orioles would do anything for the right price, including allowing the Nats to play home games at their AAA affiliate stadium.
Too much COVID in Hampton Rds and that whole area – no way
Wish it wasn’t accurate but the recent spike over the last week now is quite troubling. The vacation destinations of Virginia Beach and further south to the Outer Banks have attracted many from Northern Hot Spots and brought it with them. There seems to be no eacape at this point without a full on nationwide quarantine. No one in or out.
If they play in Fredericksburg, the yankees lose bad.
Mar A Lago
You think they should play a golf tournament instead? Um…ok
I find it bizarre that MLB doesn’t require a mandatory 2 week quarantine with all positive tests. It’s the norm in every other corners of the world. We here at the US experience the worst outbreak, yet it seems our protocols are the most of lenient.
How quickly are players returning now? It sure seems like it is taking at least 2 weeks for positive players to test negative twice in back to back days and to confirm their antibody tests. I’m not sure what the Nats are hoping for here? Players to return in 10 days? By all accounts, it takes the body at least 2 weeks to fight off COVID in asymptomatic patients and develop antibodies, and those with symptoms it takes longer than two weeks. Does it really make sense to try and relocate the Nats to a new stadium and have to go through all of the ‘COVID-proofing’ they have already done (and spent millions on) at this new, inferior stadium? They should just accept the two week requirement and stay at home. I’m sure other cities will follow suit shortly if they haven’t already.
The much bigger issue at hand is that Toronto still has not approved regular season games to take place at the Rogers Centre. They might not even let US based teams into the country. Now that is a major issue!
What are the Nats hoping for? It’s pretty clear. This season, being put on a 14 day IL is the equivalent of being put on the same list for FIVE weeks in a 162 game season.. Every day and every game missed is HUGE. And since it matters not one bit *where* teams play since no fans are allowed, the Nats are doing the right thing.
here’s a great chance for POTUS to step up and give them an exemption
People still call him that?
Best one evah.
Can elimate Texas,Orlando because of Virus. Where Sugar Bowl is played.
Yes, Fredericksburg! Open the season in a brand new ballpark.
Wait. What are the Nationals trying to do? Are they not quarantining guys if they test positive? They don’t want to play in DC because DC requires people with COVID-19 to be quarantined.
Sure, play in minor league parks. The season is gonna be a total farce anyway
Nats stadium is one of my favorite parks to see a game at. Just like New York, if DC doesn’t close the Metro, there is no point in closing anything.
I agree, Nationals Park is very nice. I’ve been to all 30 parks and It at the top of my list.
I’d love to hit all 30 parks. I’ve been to Nats, old Comiskey, Wrigley, Angels, Dodgers, Jack Murphy (Padres prior to Petco), old Arlington, Camden, and that’s it. 22 to go.
Keep after it my friend….it is a lot of fun. Luckily my wife likes going to baseball games also. Our last year to finish them was in 2017. Went to 7 different parks that year.
This actually seems reasonable. Wow. A reasonable compromise. In 2020. This is a first.
Oh, and everybody should be grateful it worked out, because The District is one of the few places in the whole country where the virus is still under some degree of control, and hasn’t seen the kinds of preposterous surges we’re seeing in the south, west, and increasingly in the midwest.
Cheers.
Excellent! The prez can throw out the first chief medical advisor!