As professional sports are making a full return this August, we have seen spectacular performances in the National Basketball Association, Major League Soccer, National Hockey League, and the Professional Golf Association. Yes, there have been some positive cases of coronavirus in the four aforementioned sports, and the MLS is Back Tournament only occurred with 24 of the 26 teams, as there were multiple coronavirus cases among FC Dallas and Nashville SC. However, the headlines in these sports have been about the greatness of the athletic performances, and not so much on the pandemic.
The same cannot be said with Major League Baseball. On a night when the focus should have been on the 17-13 Detroit Tigers slugfest victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in 11 innings, the focus was still on the St. Louis Cardinals, and the fact they have not played since July 29, when they were beaten 3-0 by the Minnesota Twins.
As of Friday evening, the Cardinals have 16 cases of coronavirus. There have been nine players and seven staff members who have tested positive. The Cardinals will also have 11 games postponed after this weekend’s series against the Chicago Cubs. The lost games will cause a massive headache for those involved in Major League Baseball, in trying to figure out how on Earth St. Louis can make up these games.
The Cardinals have no idea when they will be back on the field. In addition to the three games lost this weekend against the Chicago Cubs, the Cardinals lost four games against the Milwaukee Brewers and four games against the Detroit Tigers. The Marlins meanwhile had seven games postponed against the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals due to 20 positive tests of coronavirus.
The outbreak among the Cardinals will also be investigated by Major League Baseball. Among the Cardinals players we know who have had the disease are catcher Yadier Molina and shortstop Paul De Jong. It will be interesting to see if the Cardinals will receive any penalties from Major League Baseball’s findings, if the season will continue with 29 teams, or if the MLB season will be cancelled altogether due to the pandemic.
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