Major League Baseball is one of several sports leagues that are exploring ways to begin or resume their seasons amid the coronavirus outbreak, and players may have to agree to quarantine in a centralized location in order to make that happen. Like many of his peers, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has doubts about whether that is feasible.
Kershaw told Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times that he is anxious to start the season like anyone else, but he’s uncomfortable with the idea of having to spend months away from his family to make it happen.
“Playing in spring training stadiums and quarantining for months without your family and certain things like that, I don’t think that’s doable if you’re talking about doing it for four to five months,” Kershaw said. “You just lose the product on the field because guys aren’t in their natural element. We’re all ready to take drastic measures to make this season happen, but there’s also certain things that will affect the product on the field, and that’s what you have to be careful about.”
Those thoughts are shared by many around the league. Each player has a different set of circumstances, and there are probably plenty who would have no problem with spending several months in a centralized location in Arizona. There are also players who don’t make nearly as much as Kershaw and other stars who are anxious to play baseball by any means necessary in order to collect a full season’s worth of pay — or close to it.
Mike Trout has also expressed concerns over the Arizona plan, and he has a very good reason for worrying about being away from his wife. The players will ultimately have to approve the plan, and there is no guarantee of that happening.
