Hopes of Finishing MLB Season Come Crashing Down at Nat’s Vote to Skip Miami

The 2020 season of Major League Baseball was never going to be perfect; not after a global coronavirus pandemic came calling.  But now, there are concerns that whatever meager season we may have seen won’t even truly get off the ground.

As it stands now, MLB teams are slated to play a heavily abbreviated 60-game season, which constitutes just over a third of what would have been the usual 162 game campaign.  On top of that adjustment, a series of new rules have been added in order to speed up the play of the game, particularly during extra innings.

But now, after the Miami Marlins announced that they would be canceling their home opener after nearly half the team tested positive for COVID-19, other franchises are concerned for the health and safety of their players and canceling trips to play against the south Florida team.

Washington Nationals players have voted not to travel to Miami this weekend for a series against the Marlins after players and staff members for the team tested positive for the coronavirus.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that Major League Baseball will make the ultimate determination on this matter and adds “it’s hard to see it going against the will of the players.”

The Marlins’ decision to continue playing after the locker room outbreak was seen by many within the MLB as highly irresponsible, and one can only imagine that additional teams will be considering avoiding those with a reputation for lackadaisical safety standards.

The asterisk next to “2020” in the record books just keeps getting bigger.