The Miami Marlins' 2020 season was put on hold after their recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. As of Thursday, the Marlins are now up to at least 19 reported positive cases of COVID-19 between players and coaches of the traveling team since Opening Day.
Outfielder Harold Ramirez was reportedly one of the club's players who tested positive in recent days. Ramirez, 25, told a Spanish television program on Wednesday, that he's the only person on the Marlins currently experiencing symptoms, including a cough and body aches. In his interview, Ramirez advocated for the idea of a one-location "bubble" for the 2020 Major League Baseball, saying that it could help avoid an outbreak like this.
Harold Ramírez on @TitularesYMas “Right now (a bubble for MLB) is a good idea, that could avoid something like this”.
— Daniel Álvarez Montes (@DanielAlvarezEE) July 30, 2020
The plan for MLB's 2020 season -- which began one week ago -- is unique in that it is the first pro team sports league to have teams playing in their home stadiums and traveling for road games instead of playing in a one-location bubble. The National Women's Soccer League completed its comeback with the 2020 Challenge Cup Tournament-- in a bubble -- with zero positive COVID-19 cases in Utah.
What does former Marlins president David Samson think of MLB's plans moving forward after Miami's breakout? He discussed them on Thursday's episode of Nothing Personal with David Samson. Listen below:
The NBA is also attempting a bubble restart, where they will play all of their games in the Orlando area. On the eve of the NBA resuming the season, the league announced that for the second consecutive week zero players tested positive for COVID-19. The NHL will enact a similar bubble situation with all teams playing in two hub cities in Canada for their Stanley Cup playoffs. In the NHL's recent round of testing (before teams left for Canada), none came back positive. The WNBA started its 2020 season in a bubble over the weekend as well.
As a result of the outbreak, the Marlins are shifting to a daily testing schedule, CEO Derek Jeter announced Tuesday. At present, MLB reportedly has no plans to cancel or pause the 2020 regular season, and instead, commissioner Rob Manfred and the owners intend to instead emphasis the health directives. Currently, the Marlins revised schedule has the club off until Monday, Aug. 3, at the earliest.
Here's a full, comprehensive timeline of how the global coronavirus pandemic has impacted the 2020 MLB season so far.
