The New York Mets and Washington Nationals were set to return to the great American pastime in The Bronx this Thursday, but COVID-19 protocols have postponed the game. According to CBS Sports, one Nationals player has tested positive. Four other players are now in quarantine for contact tracing, along with one staff member. There is no decision right now on whether or not they will play Friday.
While speculation looms, the two teams are expected to play Saturday following roster moves. The matchup is expected to play a double-header later this season to make up for the postponement.
The players must stay in lockdown for at least ten days. Then, if the MLB's joint COVID-19 committee approves them, they can resume play. Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post posted this tweet: "Mike Rizzo says that the person who tested positive is a player and, after contract tracing — having flown on a team charter Monday evening — it was determined that five people had to quarantine. The Nationals have undergone PCR and rapid tests in the time since."
According to Axios, the MLB had reported 72,751 COVID-19 tests last Friday. Only 17 tests reported back positive. The league, since the pandemic, made many changes to the game to ensure safety for players and the fans alike. One of which was a new ball. The new ball was designed to cut down on flight and home runs, making it harder for a fan in the crowd to catch the ball. The league has also implemented new rules, including placing runners on second base each extra half-inning and moving to seven-inning double-headers.
According to The Atlantic, Theo Epstein had this to say, "I think everyone in the game can look at the product on the field right now and say ... while we love it, and baseball is as important to us and as special to us as ever, it's probably not the very best version of the game that's possible in the universe."
While the great American pastime goes on, progress continues to be made to return to a state of normalcy.
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