Families Of MLB Players Worry About Coronavirus Amid Cancellation Of Spring Training Games

Major League Baseball might not be at a full-blown panic right now, but it's creeping toward it as players and their families are becoming more and more concerned about the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

With what is now a newly minted pandemic by the World Health Organization, MLB has already seen unprecedented action taken on its behalf as the city of Seattle has banned public gatherings of 250 people or more, effectively shutting down the Mariners' opening series against the Texas Rangers.

Similarly, San Francisco Mayor London Breed has cancelled "large group events of 1,000 persons or more" in San Francisco County for at least two weeks. That has already nixed the spring training Bay Bridge series between the Giants and Oakland A's, and it could extend into early April, putting the Giants' opening series against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers in jeopardy.

Now, it appears spring training will be canceled as of Friday as concerns from players' family members also grew.

Things now look more dire after the NBA had players test positive and has now postponed its season indefinitely, while Major League Soccer has suspended its season for 30 days and the PGA Tour has barred fans from events starting Friday. Before MLB's decision to cancel spring training, families of some baseball players are taking it upon themselves to plead with fans to stay away from spring training ballparks.

In a tweet Thursday morning, Eireann Dolan, the wife of Washington Nationals reliver Sean Doolittle, asked fans to take this spread seriously by not coming to games because they are putting themselves, and players and in turn their families, at risk by attending.

"Please don't go," she said to her 45-plus thousand followers.

She also noted that MLB is still "inexplicably" allowing teams to continue playing games. Games that don't actually count in standings.

In a later tweet, Dolan mentioned how dangerous it could be for people to travel into Arizona and Florida - the spring training states - partly because of their high populations of elderly people. Elderly people are at higher risk to contract coronavirus and have more severe and even fatal reactions.

Playing games without fans or cancelling games all together would obviously have a significant financial impact on MLB in the regular season, and that is likely playing a role in how they handle this moving forward. It would be particularly impactful for opening weekend series, as several if not all teams can bank on that weekend giving them sold out stadiums.

Players, meanwhile, were proceeding as if nothing had changed in terms of games being played. MLB had not given them any insight into their plans or discussions as of Thursday morning.

But the pleas from people like Dolan helped bring attention to the question of why spring training games were still being played, and players are equally concerned but unsure on how things will unfold.

"I think we're all in uncharted territory. We've never seen this. We've never done this," Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper told reporters this week. "I think everybody is trying to do what is right."

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