Sunday, 1 November 2020

COVID-19 At The Old Ball Game

It has been a busy week! I've posted more than usual and haven't even gotten around to talking about the end to the World Series - which happened on Tuesday, when the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays, ending a 30-year championship drought. Way to go, Dodgers!

There was so much in play this year for Major League Baseball (MLB), with many new protocols put in place to lower the risk of COVID-19 transmission. While the truncated 60-game regular season format (as opposed to its regular 162-game season) allowed teams to travel, resulting in some transmission of COVID-19 amongst players and rescheduling of games, the measures instituted proved to be largely successful. This was summed up by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study, Mitigating a COVID-19 Outbreak Among Major League Baseball Players — United States, 2020:

During the 2020 season, Major League Baseball instituted a multilayered COVID-19 prevention and mitigation strategy. In an outbreak among 20 baseball players and staff members on a single team, no secondary transmission during field play between two opposing teams occurred. Interactions outside of game play were the likely source of transmission within the team.

For example, this happened in August, when players from the St. Louis Cardinals broke protocol in Milwaukee and left the team bubble for a night out on the town:

During the postseason, COVID-19 mitigation measures were even more effective, resulting in even fewer positive cases. MLB instituted a bubble system, with each round taking place in "neutral" cities, and games limited to only four stadiums. For the National League Division Series (NLDS) and National League Championship Series (NLCS), games were played in Arlington (Globe Life Field) and Houston (Minute Maid Park), Texas, respectively; American League Division Series (ALDS) and American League Championship Series (ALCS) games happened in San Diego (Petco Park) and Los Angeles (Dodger Stadium), California. Once league champions were determined, the American League champs were moved and joined the National League champs' bubble in Arlington. 

This hub city format is similar to what the NHL did for the playoffs, with games being played in only Edmonton and Toronto. (I think the NBA also did something like this, but I'm not up to speed 'cause I don't watch pro basketball... sorry, Raptors fans.)

On Friday, October 23, ESPN reported on the success of the postseason hub format, stating that "MLB players extended their streak of consecutive days with no new COVID-19 tests to 54 through Thursday during a time of rising cases in the United States. Players did not have positive tests in 62 of the previous 63 days, the commissioner's office said Friday."

However, some of the biggest MLB headlines were made following the final game of the World Series - being less about the Dodgers exorcising their postseason demons, and more about Los Angeles player Justin Turner. Turner had been pulled from the final game in the 8th inning after a COVID-19 test came back positive. Further, after the Dodgers won the game, there were reports that Turner came back onto the field to celebrate with the team, COVID-positive and mask-less, amongst fellow players and management who had been joined by their spouses and children.

This is infuriating and not a good look, to say the least. I was going to write a whole post covering all of this, but CBS Sports journalist Pete Blackburn did such an excellent job earlier in the week of saying pretty much everything I wanted to say, that I've decided to defer to his words instead. Enjoy. 

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The bizarre ending to the MLB season is fitting for 2020
Pete Blackburn, CBS Sports HQ

Things got pretty weird immediately after the Dodgers recorded the final out to clinch the title. First, we learned via a breaking news update that Justin Turner had tested positive for coronavirus DURING the game, which is why he was pulled in the 8th inning.

So, how exactly did that happen during a game? It's a fair question to ask, and here's what we know so far about the timeline:

  • Turner had a test from Monday come back inconclusive during the second inning of Tuesday's game
  • Following the inconclusive result, the lab expedited Turner's test from Tuesday and alerted MLB when it came back positive
  • The Dodgers were instructed to pull Turner from the game and isolate him
  • Turner, who said he was asymptomatic, returned to the field and was carrying around the trophy while celebrating and hugging teammates. He removed his mask to take a team picture on the diamond

While it's incredibly unfortunate that Turner's positive COVID-19 test came down just before the peak of his professional career and a celebration that he's been waiting for his entire life, it's a terrible look for MLB that he was allowed to return to the field. It's pretty irresponsible and selfish on Turner's part -- especially considering his manager is a cancer survivor, he's got a teammate with a heart condition and there were kids and family members involved in the celebration -- but it also showed that the league didn't actually take their own protocols seriously. 

Also, isn't it a bit weird that the previous day's test results weren't coming through until after first pitch? And should Turner have been pulled out as a precautionary measure in the second inning after his initial test came back inconclusive? (For what it's worth, Ken Rosenthal reported that the initial test was also a positive.)

There was a lot to process and monitor immediately after the final out and it's a bummer that there was sort of a dark cloud over the celebration, especially after MLB nearly completed an entire postseason run without any COVID-19 issues. (Turner was the first positive test.) Now, everyone just has to hope that Turner stays in good health and that the virus wasn't spread to anyone else.

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Next up in sports: college basketball. Yahoo! (Yes, I know NFL is happening but I'm not watching any of that, either. If anyone wants to write about what the NFL is doing in light of the coronavirus, hit me up!)

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