With so much fervor around the MLB coming back, and about how they will work around Covid 19 and launch the league again, something that’s been forgotten/ignored is the players opinions on the matter.
Do players want the league back? Do they feel safe? After all these guys are human too, they have families and responsibilities. Some may have circumstances at home. That in itself makes the threat of the virus not worth the risk of playing the game until they figure things out.
Collin McHugh
Well one of those players is Collin McHugh. McHugh recently spoke out saying, “We’re in a situation right now where you can’t make this mandatory… you can’t tell a guy, ‘You have to come play or else your roster spot is not going to be here when you come back.’ You can’t tell a guy to risk his life and the life of his family and the lives of anyone he chooses to be around to come play this game. There’s probably going to have to be some waivers signed and whatever else you need to have done to make guys feel comfortable coming back.” (Fenway Rundown Podcast)
Does McHugh have a point? I definitely think he does. Set aside your opinions on right and wrong regarding politics, health and this virus because it doesn’t matter. The fact of the matter is the player is the one who has the opinion. The MLB has a responsibility in such a new world to respect that.
McHugh, and I, both believe that it’s only a matter of time before more athletes speak out. More importantly, they may even sit out. “When you’re talking about the risk factors here, there are going to be some guys who sincerely have to weigh the risks of what it’s going to take to come back versus staying at home.” (Fenway Rundown Podcast)
This virus and the turmoil it’s causing is such new area, we still don’t know what will happen. At the end of the day I would love to see baseball back. But as I have said before, not at the cost of humanity.
-Dave Little (@DLittleMLB)
