Reese Kaplan -- Four Are Sitting Out the 2020 Season

Sometimes you feel as if you have to pinch yourself to realize that baseball is indeed going to begin again this week with pre-training starting today and official kickoff to the camps on Friday.  Many of us had written off the 2020 season entirely.  Even with the weirdnesses that abound like extended roster size, taxi squads, DH, shortened extra inning games and the like, whatever it is represents a return to the sport we all love.  

On Monday, however, a fresh weirdness has entered the 2020 roster construction.  It’s a choice most of us never have to make (nor have the financial wherewithal to even have it as an option).  In many lines of work people are frantic about having to go to work every day when protection from the coronavirus pandemic is not really available, but they have bills to pay and really don’t have any other option.  

Baseball is a bit different in this regard.  Most star quality ballplayers have earned a decent living from their athletic skills.  Even the rookies who have no major league experience start their paychecks off at over $500K per year, money most of us will never sniff working “regular” jobs.  As such, the average ballplayer has some flexibility in deciding what to do to ensure that he and his family remain safe until there is a prevention and a cure developed for the COVID-19 virus.

Towards this end, four major league ballplayers made the decision on Monday to sit out the season rather than subject themselves and the people they love to possible health problems.  For some this decision was easier to make than for others.  

The Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman has had a very successful career.  Yes, he’s had some health issues to address several times, but at age 35 he’s already earned $137 million playing for Washington’s team.  With ample money in the bank he opted to withdraw from playing for the 2020 season and certainly won’t go hungry in forfeiting his paycheck.  He’s a two-time All Star, a four-time candidate for MVP and a Gold Glove winner.  I’m not disputing his paycheck at all, but appreciate what his play has done for him financially offering up this flexibility.  

Mike Leake of the Arizona Diamondbacks is a back-of-the-rotation starting pitcher who has worked primarily for the Cincinnati Reds before moving to an assortment of teams over the next few years.  He was slated to earn $16 million this year as part of a roughly $95 million career in earnings.  He’s won a Gold Glove and holds a winning record with a career ERA of 4.05.  He decided to forego his big paycheck for 2020.

Another high priced player making that decision was the Rockies’ Ian Desmond.  The infielder/outfielder has had a nice career since 2009, earning two All Star berths and three Silver Slugger awards.  His combination of power and speed helped him thus far to earn over $91 million in his career.  His decision to forego the 2020 season was expounded in great depth on his online post, but suffice to say he realized that the things he faced as a young man coming up through the schoolyards and into pro ball have not changed as much as he would have liked.  He is taking this time to reflect and draw attention to the problems that he perceives still exist.

The most surprising player on the list is also a teammate of Ryan Zimmerman on the Nationals.  This one really caught people off guard.  Pitcher Joe Ross came up through the Padres system before breaking in with Washington and pitching for them first as a starter but lately mostly out of the pen.  He has no awards on his mantle and his paychecks are not astronomical by baseball player standards.  Thus far he’s earned $3.5 million in salary since breaking in during the 2016 season.  He’s walking away from his $1 million paycheck for safety.  By anyone’s standards that takes guts.

There may be more that surface as this trend continues to develop.  The Mets announced that one of their 40-man roster players tested positive for the virus but they’re protecting his identity.  That’s how easy it is for baseball players to come into contact with carriers.  Whether you think the aforementioned four players are doing the right thing or the wrong thing, applaud them for having the courage to voluntarily give up a big paycheck in the interest of preserving health.