MLB battles COVID and high tensions early in the season
By: Ryan Kanne
With the MLB season in a COVID-19 shortened season, fights, suspensions, and quarantine have dominated the news cycle around the baseball world. As the season approaches the midseason mark and the trade deadline, let’s recap what’s happened around the league so far.
Through the first month of action, the original 60-game schedule has already been massively altered twice due to outbreaks of COVID-19 through organizations. The first team to have widespread positive tests came from the Miami Marlins with 20 on July 27. This was followed by the St. Louis Cardinals outbreak on July 31 that resulted in six positive tests.
Both the Cardinals and Marlins have resumed play with the rest of the league, having now to play extra doubleheaders to make up for the lost games. This change distinctly gave a disadvantage to the Cardinals who lost the only home series they had against the rival Chicago Cubs.
Despite the two outbreaks and a recent positive test from the Cincinnati Reds, the MLB seems set on continuing the season. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said to ESPN, “We are playing. The players need to be better, but I am not a quitter in general and there is no reason to quit now. We have had to be fluid, but it is manageable.” Manfred will have to continue to manage the difficulties that come from not having the league go into a bubble as other sports leagues have.
With the season looking to extend through the last month, there’s plenty of drama within the sport itself. This season has seen its fair share of brawls and suspensions already, mostly stemming from player frustration over the punishment, and lack thereof, for the Houston Astros players caught cheating in the 2017 regular and postseason.
The Astros got into an early brawl against the team they beat in the 2017 World Series, the Lost Angeles Dodgers. After throwing intentionally at Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly was able to strike Correa out. The two began talking back and forth at each other until finally the benches cleared. After a few more words, the two sides returned to their dugouts with only a few shoves to show for it.
On July 29, the MLB revealed the punishment for the fiasco as Kelly received an eight-game suspension that was later appealed down to five. Both managers were also punished with the Dodgers Dave Roberts serving a one- game suspension, and the Astros Dusty Baker being fined an undisclosed amount.
Tensions run hot between teams, but in baseball tensions run at boiling when someone breaks an “unwritten rule”. Baseball is infamous for its unwritten rules of etiquette and generally how to play the game. These rules have been enforced on players who “show someone up”, mostly after a bat flip or any sort of celebration deemed to be too much.
On July 17, San Diego Padres shortstop and the current MLB leader in home runs Fernando Tatis Jr. broke an unwritten rule. In the eighth inning of a 10-3 Padres lead, Tatis Jr. hit a fastball on a 3-0 count for a grand slam. Following the slam, the Texas Rangers threw a ball behind the next batter.
After the game, both the Padres and Rangers managers disapproved of Tatis Jr’s. grand slam in such a lopsided game. Padres manager Jayce Tingler calling the incident, “A learning opportunity”. Since then, a slew of players, reporters, and the general twitter critic have come to the defense of the young Padres shortstop. As for Tatis Jr., he simply continued hitting one of the hottest bats in the MLB, smashing his MLB leading 12th home run on July 19.
With the MLB set on finishing the season, there are sure to be more bumps in the road. Whether those come from COVID-19 shutdowns or more unwritten rules shenanigans remains to be seen. The only thing that can be promised is that there will, somehow someway, be an MLB season finale and hopefully a postseason.