The Phillies announced today that one member of the coaching staff and one home clubhouse staff member have tested positive for COVID-19. No players registered positive tests. The club has cancelled its scheduled workouts indefinitely.
While it’s obviously possible that these infections occurred elsewhere, it is impossible to ignore the possibility that they came about during the series last weekend with a Marlins club that is now riddled with coronavirus infections. It had been hoped that the virus had been contained to the Miami organization.
The plan had been for the Phillies to resume play on Saturday. Whether that is now in jeopardy isn’t known. The organization has already dealt with some infections earlier this year, but managed to avoid further spread within the club.
This is worrisome news on several levels. First and foremost, it’s concerning to see two more individuals in the game carrying this disease. Hopefully they’ll both make a swift and full recovery.
Beyond that, it’s obviously concerning to see that spread (presumably) occurred between the teams. Fortunately, the Phillies have not had further contact with other organizations since the series against the Marlins. But it seems quite possible that other members of the Phillies organization could still be harboring infections that haven’t yet triggered positive tests. It’s also hypothetically possible that transmission could’ve occurred from the coach and staff member to others, though one would hope the team has exercised stringent caution over the past few days.
This is horrible news. I know we only have part of the story, but I now have less respect for the players on the Marlins than I do for the Houston Astros.
If information changes, so will my opinion.
You can’t for sure say it was the Marlins.
its pretty clear they went out on the town in Atlanta.
Miami Marlins: *has 17 positive cases*
Vtncsc: You can’t say for sure it was them!
Lol
It’s a scientific fact that coronavirus didn’t exist in the state of Pennsylvania until the Marlins showed up.
Did the Marlins go back in time to infect the visiting clubhouse attendant who tested positive over the weekend before most of the Marlins players tested positive?
I mean how could they have not. There is no possible way that anyone can get coronavirus except for contact with Marlins players! Take your head out of your ass.
“If information changes” ?…
Right now there’s almost no information, other than a completely unconfirmed utterance from Bob Nightingale.
Not saying that all Marlins players are completely innocent, but I don’t think it’s fair to pass judgement right now since we still have no real idea of what happened.
GONEcarlo
Not 100% true. We have a memo from the commissioner that leads me to believe the Marlins broke protocol both on and off the field.
You can read that memo and infer something completely different.
But it is evidence.
Agree no respect for Marlins
euh well that’s great
Considering they spent the weekend playing a team that is half positive at this point, this isn’t bad. Yes, it sucks that 2 guys got it, I wouldn’t wish it on anybody, but this could have been far worse.
so far there are only two positive tests. That number could rise dramatically in the next few days.
acell
Players get constant physicals. They are in great shape. Players are very likely to recover with no long term affects.
We don’t know anything about the coach. We don’t know anything about the clubhouse attendant.
Ask Eduardo Rodriguez how well that’s working out…no one has any idea about the long term effects of this virus, not sure how you could generalize that
His manager said it was “minor”.
“The Red Sox have shut down No. 1 starter Eduardo Rodriguez with what manager Ron Roenicke described as “minor complications” related to COVID-19.”
Let me know if it becomes something other than minor.
How often do you think players get physicals? I’m quite sure it’s nowhere near “constant”.
Mike Trout joked about a ten hour physical. Every player goes through a physical when they sign a contract, change teams.
But your point is well taken. I don’t know if they have physicals every year or not. I would hope that every player would go through a physical this year, they certainly have the means.
Halofan11 that literally has nothing to do with what I said. All I said was that so far there have been two cases. More players, coaches, staff etc could very easily test positive.
Also Myocarditis isn’t anything to joke around about. That had the potential to be serious had it not been caught.
acell, I see your point, It was a non-sequitur. I’m worried about the non-players, that was my point.
You’re right, this could just be the beginning.
Why do we always go to the outlier cases to try to make a point? As the poster stated, players are very likely to recover with no long term affects, that is a true statement.
His manager is not a medical doctor and therefore is unqualified to render a medical prognosis.
Because the outlier cases, when it comes to human lives, are unacceptable outcomes. Who is to say what is acceptable loss? Who can set a bar for an okay number of people to have life changing illness? This isn’t war, it is entertainment.
Are you retired? How do you have time to comment so often? I’m not joking, I’m legit curious.
I’m sure they get physicals at the start of camp or whatever. But, I’m not sure how that would at all help with something like this.
Are the chances low that anyone, especially a player dies? Yes. However, I think even if one player, coach or one of their family members die, it would be a different convo. I think the coaches are most at risk here, honestly. That’s the higher risk age group. Like look at Martinez from the Nats. 55 and had a heart issue just last year. I’m rooting for this to burn out and not spread anymore so we can enjoy baseball. I’ve been watching as many games as I can, but I also understand people’s unease about it.
xtraflamy.
And how many active major league players have died in the last 20 years?
What’s an acceptable loss to you? Zero? Then lets cancel baseball altogether.
Things happen. Players are in one of the safest demographics groups in America.
And we still ignore hotel workers, their families and then their spouses’ workplace and then their spouses’ co-workers’ families. Ignorance truly must be bliss.
I agree – until death itself is eradicated, there should be no baseball.
Good point @acell10 I guess I should say not too bad so far.
Dade / Broward is a top 10 hotspot. Not ! surprising the Marlins are affected.
MLB players need to be more disciplined – same rules as the rest of us. Socially distance (club house, bench, bullpen, hotel), wear a mask everywhere except OF <due to contact with base runners? and wash their hands. No Hi fives , trips to restaurants etc etc.
Maybe cross pollinate with the new sign stealing guidelines and have an 'outside security firm' monitor compliance. Veterans need to kick some a## in the clubhouse with the young guys. It's not complicated.
Miami Dade and Broward county were 1 and 2 in Florida as of last week. Covered just over 40% of the state’s cases at one point.
Do we see several more in the coming days?
That’s the scary thing.
The season is only a week old.
its curious that its two non-players so far. if it stays just non-players you have to wonder if they got it through the Marlins or not.
A clubhouse attendant makes prefect sense. A first or third base coach makes perfect sense. A home plate umpire makes perfect sense.
We to find out more, but those are the people I would suspect would get it first.
It was a HOME clubhouse attendant. So a guy who was never in the Marlins lockeroom.
Hayes, I’m not questioning you, but how do you know what the responsibility of a clubhouse staffer are?
I honestly have no idea.
The “AWAY” clubhouse attendant tested positive first on Tuesday. They would have had contact with the Marlins beginning from Thursday or Friday so certainly possible there was a breakdown of social distancing and that away attendant came into contact or contaminated something that the ‘home’ clubhouse attendant caught it.
A home clubhouse attendant works in the home clubhouse. An away clubhouse attendant works in the away clubhouse. To be fair to your point, this home clubhouse attendant could have wandered into the visiting team’s clubhouse, but given the Phillies strict protocols that seems unlikely.
Good call out here.
A home clubhouse attendant who most likely resides in Philly or Jersey. Just like home attendants in Florida, California, Texas…then those players travel and infect home attendants in other cities.
I highly doubt the Marlins’ players did anything ‘wrong’, it’s just how this virus manifests, incubates and infects – unseen and undetected.
The news of the visiting clubhouse attendant testing positive was reported on Tuesday, but It was also reported that the positive test came from a round of testing held over the weekend. It is highly unlikely that he got it from the Marlins as he was tested before most of the Marlins tested positive.
The end is nigh. For the season I mean.
We will see but I doubt it at this point. It’s two teams right now that played each other. This is what the protocols and testing is for.
Clubhouse staffer in marlins locker room? Coach is concerning.
No. It’s a home clubhouse staffer. So not in the Marlins locker room.
This is a second clubhouse staffer. The clubhouse staffer who works for the Phillies that was assigned to the Marlins clubhouse had already tested positive Tuesday.
Tough to enjoy a season that gets a daily threat of termination.
2020 really sucks but it’s all we got!
Teams need strict protocols. Majority this guys are allowed to sit in restaurant do anything really just wear a “mask” family members/ significant other’s traveling back and forth. How’s that any safe?
I can see why Toronto said no thank you. Afraid that U.S teams would be reckless. I understand now!
The part that bothers me is how can you pass a COVID test yet in all actuality you have the virus?
Response to coachdt: this is why this virus is so bad across the planet. It can be spread for up to 10 days BEFORE a person tests positive. This has been known for 4 months and precisely why it’s so dangerous. It’s not just about who the players’ health. It’s about everyone they contact TEN days prior to actually testing positive, and who those people contact for 10, and those people and so on.
Thank you Jim.
It only takes one person on a team to go outside the guidelines and contract the disease. They don’t know they have it and they come to the locker room and it spreads like crazy.
It will happen again. This was to be expected and it is the way it is. MLB teams have to handle it. They will. Be patient.
Given the Gaussian curve nature of the infections it does not seem like one person got the virus and spread it to the rest of the team. There would be a more discernible pause from the first positive to the next set of positives. it is likely that all or most of the people infected got infected at about the same time.
So what now? Games and series get postponed and attempted to be crammed into 60 days? Arm injury after arm injury, surgeries and season ending injuries are already starting. It’s just a nightmare. Who is benefitting from any of this?
Is there a reason always reported doomsday ? This is not unexpected .. gosh
Report: Manfred warns of potential season shutdown
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What’ll probably end up happening is mlb will cancel the Phillies, marlins series during the first week of August. That way it leaves the ten day CDC approved incubation period to pass and ensure it hasn’t spread with certainty. If there’s a continual positive case increase on the Phillies, then they’ll postpone other games until everyone’s Negative.