Perhaps the scariest thing is that the Mets didn’t appear to do anything wrong. The second scariest thing is the lack of empathy from a segment of their fan base.
On the first point: We checked out the story from the team that no Mets are known to have broken health and safety protocols on the road by going out, participating in a large gathering or any other violation that led to two members of the organization testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.
We can tell you that there is no alternative story floating around the clubhouse, no secrets being covered up. This info comes not only from the top down, but from the bottom up. Is it possible that new details emerge later? Anything is possible. But the Mets traveling party -- not just management -- believes today that the team was behaving safely off the field, and ended up with a Covid problem anyway.
That reality sends a chill through that group, some of whom have underlying health conditions and decided to participate anyway. We’re not just talking about players, many of whom could afford to opt out if they needed to. We’re talking about support staff making less money than you might think, who had no choice but to report to work once the season was on.
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Those people are like you and me: Want to pay your mortgage? Feed your kids? Better knock on wood, say a prayer and report to work.
It is a fact that many baseball people began the season with high anxiety, wishing it weren’t happening. For many, those feelings remain as the games play on. In that context, as the Mets prepared for a game Thursday evening, they learned that two co-workers had contracted the dreaded virus. Contact tracing determined that it was safe for most of the team to fly back to New York, because they weren’t in close contact with the players who tested positive.
Before the day was up, the team arrived home, underwent further testing and waited to see if the news would get worse. MLB then announced on Friday that the final two games of the Subway Series on Saturday and Sunday would also be postponed.
For the humans who work for the Mets, it was the nightmare scenario that they had hoped not to face when they showed up for the league’s so-called Summer Camp. It’s the reason why Marcus Stroman and Yoenis Cespedes said they opted out, and the reason why others probably would have too, had they been able to afford it.
The only appropriate response is to worry and feel for these people, regardless of their tax bracket. Unfortunately, that was not the only response in evidence on Thursday and Friday. Normally, it’s best to ignore online nastiness. On the subject of MLB and Covid, we’ve been doing it on a daily basis for months. But it’s been persistent enough to identify as a pattern now, and it’s not just the same few people each time.
Many of the responses underneath a video posted on Thursday in which I called this experience “terrifying” showed an alarming lack of compassion. We won’t publish the handles of the people who wrote these replies, though it’s a courtesy they don’t deserve. To be very clear, many people in my mentions expressed empathy and concern. But the fact that anyone -- a single person, let alone many -- would write these things; well, it’s just depressing.
Some examples:
“Don't pretend these players would be locked in their room if not for MLB and don't pretend that players are playing for us and not the money.”
"'Terrifying'. Every MLB player has recovered , most asymptomatic & I haven't heard any reports of them spreading it to family and/or friends. Stop the fear mongering."
"A little dramatic"
"99.96 survival rate. It’s not that terrifying"
"I’m an essential worker in a hospital (taking public transportation, aggressive panhandlers in my face with no mask, I should be terrified). Not a bunch of grown men chasing a little white ball, flying charters). Don’t mean to make lite of there situation."
"99.8% survival rate !!!!"
"It's fine dude. Stop overblowing it. One of our guys probably has the sniffles or no symptoms. These athletes have like a .00000000000000000000000000000000001 chance of dying. In great shape and have great testing and doctors available. Stop the fear porn."
"After their sniffles and cough go away if not asymptomatic they’ll be back just fine. They aren’t 70 year olds."
"Yeah I’m sure they’re so terrified of not showing any symptoms for 14 days. Or at worst maybe the sniffles. God you are so dramatic Andy."
OK, so. I guess this is the place for the obligatory reminder that Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez developed a serious heart condition because of the virus. That Freddie Freeman ran a fever of 104 degrees and prayed that God wouldn’t take him. That Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy … you know what, never mind. You either have feelings for your fellow humans or you don’t. I’m not going to convince anyone.
As for the Mets, who are putting themselves at risk to earn a living for their families and to entertain us, we can only say that we pray the next few days are less terrifying than Thursday and today.
That’s right: 174,000 Americans are dead. Millions have been seriously ill. It’s terrifying.