TAMPA — Back in March, when the coronavirus was spreading rampantly in New York and in other major metropolitan areas in the north, some baseball players felt safer staying in Florida. The Yankees and several other teams let small groups of their players use their facilities to work out during what everyone thought would be a temporary hiatus from the 2020 season.
Three months later, the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting baseball closer to home. With Florida breaking daily records for positive coronavirus tests, it is creeping into the sports and baseball world.
Friday, the Phillies announced that they were shutting down Spectrum Field after five players and three staff members tested positive. None of the players or staff were identified, but the team issued a statement that a larger group of staff and players who live in the Clearwater area are awaiting test results, so there could be a larger outbreak.
With Florida experiencing a disturbing spike in its number of coronavirus cases in the weeks after reopening restaurants, bars and gyms, it isn’t too surprising that the increase in infections are showing themselves in the sports world.
The Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday also announced that they had three players test positive for the virus. The Blue Jays, whose spring training facility is in the next town over from Clearwater, reportedly shut down their camp Thursday after one player exhibited symptoms that resembled COVID-19.
Last month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was touting Florida’s relatively low COVID-19 numbers and encouraging professional sports teams to come on down. The WWE was deemed an “essential” business by DeSantos and allowed to film, albeit without fans, throughout the shutdown. The NBA has planned its return at the Disney resort in Orlando and the Blue Jays were considering — and preparing — to play regular season games at the spring training facility in Dunedin.
Now, there is a growing concern about possibly holding a second spring training in Florida if the union and league can reach an agreement on starting the 2020 season.
The Yankees, which have kept their facility open to a limited number of players in controlled workouts, have said they would likely to reconvene “spring training” in Tampa, if the agreement can be reached. The recent numbers, however, have the possibility of holding it in New York now in discussion, however.
The Phillies, however, had already said they would prefer to reconvene their spring training in Philadelphia and this will likely seal that fate. They reported that none of the eight people who tested positive have been hospitalized and they are optimistic about being able to maintain that.
“The first confirmed case occurred this past Tuesday, June 16. In addition, 8 staff members have tested negative for the virus, while 12 staff members and 20 players (both major league and minor league players) living in the Clearwater area are in the process of being tested and are awaiting the results of those tests,” the Phillies said in a statement.
These are all part of a concerning spike of the disease in Florida, which reported a record 3,207 new positive cases on Friday morning. The state has had 85,926 confirmed cases and 3,061 deaths. Pinellas County, where the Phillies and Blue Jays have facilities, reported 141 new cases on Wednesday, the last date available. The county has 3,153 total cases, 520 hospitalizations and 113 deaths.
The governor has attributed the rise in cases to an increase in testing across the state.
The Yankees contained an outbreak at their minor league complex back in March. They had two minor league players and a staff member test positive for the coronavirus forcing the minor leaguers to quarantine for 14 days. The Yankees had professional cleaners in to decontaminate their facilities.
Even with the positive cases in the organization, however, several players said they felt safer staying in Tampa and working out at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Tyler Wade and DJ LeMahieu, for example, said that the precautions the Yankees took at the workouts made them feel safe coming in and working out.
But in Tampa, specifically in the areas around the Yankees spring training complex, there have been alarming spikes. Tampa mayor Jane Castor issued an order to make wearing masks mandatory in public at all indoor locations outside the home when residents are unable to maintain a six-foot separation from others. The order is effective as of 5 p.m. on Friday night.
The Phillies’ cases could be among the ones that were mentioned by the MLB in negotiations with the union earlier this week. They are also a stark reminder that without a vaccine and a comprehensive national testing and tracing policy, baseball — and all sports — can negotiate a deal with their players to get back on the field, but it will be at the whim of the virus. Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci warned baseball that playing after September could be threatened by a second wave of the virus.
