Cardinals star catcher Yadier Molina tests positive for coronavirus

Yadier Molina (John Maxmena, Wikimedia Commons)

The St. Louis Cardinals have been decimated with coronavirus over the last week. They have seen their series against the Milwaukee Brewers and Detroit Tigers postponed because of 13 positive cases over a span of four days from Friday to Monday.

Now we are finding out that seven Cardinals players and six Cardinals staff members tested positive for the disease. Among the seven Cardinals players are catcher Yadier Molina of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and shortstop Paul DeJong of Orlando, Florida.

Molina is a nine-time all-star with the Cardinals. One could make the argument that he has been the best catcher in the National League over the last decade. The nine-time gold glover, Molina batted .270 last season with 10 home runs and 57 runs batted in. It was the sixth time in his career that he reached double digits in home runs for a single season. In five games this season, Molina had batted .222 with one run batted in.

DeJong was an all-star for the first time in his career in 2019 despite only batting .233. In 159 games, DeJong had 30 home runs and 78 runs batted in.

There is no doubt that Major League Baseball is in serious jeopardy of not completing its season. The Cardinals are one of two teams that have had a significant outbreak since the regular season began. They are joined by the Miami Marlins. Cases continue to rise within the United States, and players are having to go airports regularly.

The National Hockey League and National Basketball Association need to be highly praised for putting their players in a bubble. The focus and storylines in both of these leagues are about the actual action, and not coronavirus.

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