Tony Plate Alderson Calling for MLB Coronavirus Shutdown

     
                                         
                                                

The players have been working out independently at spring training sites nationally during the coronavirus situation. The Trump administration released new guidelines for the public including closing schools and avoiding groups of more than ten people.

Former New York Met General Manager Sandy Alderson, who is now a consultant with the Oakland A’s called for a Major League Baseball coronavirus shutdown. He feels that it doesn’t make sense to the rest of the country to have some athletes running around playing catch which is not social distancing. 

Alderson feels it defies logic that the players are still working out since the season is not going to start until June 1^st.  The Mets traditionally have not played well in the month of June recently.  

 In my opinion that was a good suggestion especially since a Yankees minor-league player tested positive for the coronavirus which resulted in a quarantine of players in the team’s minor league camp which was unfortunate. It is better to be safe than sorry. You have to take the correct precautionary measures to assure the safety of everyone.

 MLB decided to concur with a Centers and disease Control and Prevention recommendation that all gatherings of fifty people or more over the next eight weeks will be canceled. It is possible that the regular season will extend through October therefore the season can also run deep into November.

In the meantime, Brodie Van Wagenen is directing his focus on the health and safety of his team. He feels that this is not about preparing for competition today, as much as it is making sure that players are considering their own circumstances.

The team is encouraging players to be thoughtful and to be measured in considering their personal and family situations. Once the team has a complete list of players that will remain at camp, Brodie Van Wagenen said that he would provide a schedule for any players who had opted to remain training at Clover Park.

Brodie was not specific when discussing which players opted to remain at the facility or travel home, but he said some of the players are going through their own thought processes to determine what their immediate plans will be. The Mets will continue to monitor and work with health, performance and medical professionals to ensure that the people remaining on site are as safe as possible.