Washington Nationals Refuse to Travel to Miami for 3-Game Series, COVID Concerns
Washington Nationals Refuse to Travel to Miami for 3-Game Series ... COVID Concerns
UPDATE
10:51 AM PT -- Turns out ... MLB might not even need the Nats-Marlins series to complete its season -- according to New York Post baseball insider Joel Sherman.
UPDATE
League officials, per Sherman, are kicking around the idea of having total winning percentage determine playoff seeding ... which would allow some teams to play a full 60-game slate, while others could play just 50.
UPDATE
MLB has previously used the winning percentage model back in 1981 ... when a strike-shortened season forced teams to play a different number of games.
The Washington Nationals players have VOTED against traveling to Miami to play a 3-game series with the Marlins in the wake of a COVID outbreak ... and ya gotta wonder, is this a wrap for MLB?!
The Nats were scheduled to play a 3-game series with the Marlins beginning Friday and ending on Sunday.
But, after 15 Miami Marlins players and 2 coaches tested positive for coronavirus, the Washington players decided it was just too damn risky.
The players took a vote -- and the majority of the team felt strongly AGAINST playing.
The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal says the MLB now has to figure out what to do ... but if the players don't feel safe, how can you force them to play?
As for the Marlins, they are still in Philadelphia -- where they wrapped up a series against the Phillies.
They will be cleared to return to Florida following a series of negative tests -- but who knows how long that could take?!
The 2020 MLB season seems to be in danger -- though Commissioner Rob Manfred said Monday night he thinks the league will be okay ... and insists they have protocols in place for a reason.
Stay tuned ...
