As the world was looking at the NBA and their first case of coronavirus among their players, the Yankees announced that they had a minor leaguer in their camp that contracted the virus, making it the first case in MLB.
For minor leaguer Matt Minnick, that was the moment his eyes really opened to the coronavirus pandemic.
"It was surreal," Minnick told the New York Daily News' Kristie Ackert. "We know what was going on in the world, but suddenly we were on a conference call with doctors talking about it. I was concerned for the player and his family. For me, I wasn't scared, I felt fine. It was just surreal."
Minnick immediately went into self-quarantine like the rest of his teammates, and the 14 quarantine ended this past Thursday. He said the Yankees were providing housing and per diem allowances during that time, which he would pick up from the facility along with food to bring back to his cousin's basement where he was staying.
But things haven't gotten any better.
Because there has been no stop to the spread of coronavirus in the country, MLB continues to delay their season as they figure out what the 2020 regular season will even look like. So Minnick packed his things and went to Indiana to stay with his girlfriend and continue whatever kind of training he can in the meantime before the Tampa facility opens up again.
"In a lot of ways, it was like being in quarantine, I just had to come up with some compromises and ways to keep the momentum I had built up," he told Ackert.
"But the minute they open Florida back up and I can work out at the facility, I am going to hop into my car and drive down there."
When that will happen, no one really knows. But Minnick isn't too worried. He'll continue to work with the net he currently is pitching into. Makeshift workouts is what every player waiting for the game to return is going through.
"With all that is going on in the world, with people getting sick, it's really not that bad of a problem to have," he said.
Minnick was a 2019 draftee by New York that played his rookie ball in the Gulf Coast League last season, appearing in nine games. He had a 3.18 ERA over 17 innings on the bump.
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