How long will the 2020 MLB season last with the Miami Marlins coronavirus outbreak?

Jorge Alfaro (right) (Ian D'Andrea, Wikimedia Commons)

A 2020 Major League Baseball season seemed to good to be true. After four days in however, the season is in serious jeopardy, and could be cancelled outright very soon.

The Miami Marlins have had a minimum of 14 cases in the last seven days according to Thomson Reuters. Among the Marlins players who have reportedly tested positive are catcher Jorge Alfaro of Sincelejo, Colombia, starting pitcher Jose Urena of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, first baseman Garrett Cooper of Torrance, California, and outfielder Harold Ramirez of Cartagena, Colombia.

The Marlins played three games in Philadelphia this past weekend, and remarkably won the series after a 5-2 win on Friday, and an 11-6 win on Sunday. Philadelphia’s win was a 7-1 win victory on Saturday. Miami’s home game on Monday against the Baltimore Orioles has been called off, as has the New York Yankees’ game in Philadelphia on Monday.

The Marlins did not travel from Philadelphia to Miami on Sunday night as they were waiting for tests to come back. The Orioles meanwhile flew to Miami as scheduled. The reason why the Yankees and Phillies game was postponed on Monday was because the Phillies are in the process of fumigating the visitors’ clubhouse and the Phillies have also asked their visiting clubhouse staff to self-isolate and get tested for coronavirus.

It is not known at this time where or precisely when the Marlins had their initial cases of coronavirus. There are currently 112, 191 cases of coronavirus in the state of Pennsylvania, with 24, 430 active cases, and 7193 deaths.

Upon hearing the news of the Marlins outbreak, Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher David Price stated the reason why he did not play this season is because “players health wasn’t being put first (by Major League Baseball toward the players). I can see that hasn’t changed.” Price was one of several players who believed it was just too unsafe to play this season.