Yankees, Phillies Game Postponed Again; Marlins And Phillies Pause Their Seasons Over Coronavirus
PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBSNewYork)- The New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies will have to wait at least one more night to play each other. Reports indicate that the game between the two teams has been postponed for a second consecutive day due to coronavirus concerns.
Monday night's game was postponed as the Phillies wait for COVID-19 test results after an outbreak among the Miami Marlins, who played a weekend series in Philadelphia this past weekend.
We are definitely in a fluid situation with the coronavirus. Major League Baseball said yesterday they weren't thinking of putting the season on hold, but after more members of the Marlins tested positive for the virus today, they and the Phillies have had their seasons paused. It comes after four more members of the Marlins tested positive, which now makes 17 positive tests in the past five days for the franchise.
The Marlins were in Philadelphia to play the Phillies over the weekend. The Yankees were supposed to use the same visitor's clubhouse in Philadelphia until the two game series was postponed.
One shred of good news is that, according to reports, no members of the Phillies have tested positive for COVID-19,
The bubble setup has worked for other professional sports leagues so far. The NBA, WNBA and MLS soccer have contained their employees in select markets, and it has been mostly effective in containing the virus.
So why didn't Major League Baseball go with the bubble as well?
"We're different than other sports. We would have had multiple locations probably in order to have enough facilities to make it work. The numbers of people involved, and numbers of people to help support the players was much larger in our sport," said Commissioner Rob Manfred on MLB Network.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered MLB a solution today.
"New York state could host any Major League Baseball game that any teams want to play, and they could play those games in our stadiums. New York state has one of the lowest infection rates in the United States. New York state has a full department of health protocol system in place," he said. "I offer to Major League Baseball. If you're having problems in other states, come play here."
The Yankees were scheduled to host the Phillies Wednesday and Thursday at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
