Major League Baseball and several other sports leagues are exploring ways to begin or resume their seasons amid the coronavirus outbreak, and that may only be possible if players are willing to quarantine in a centralized location. Mike Trout doesn’t seem too thrilled about that idea.
In an interview with NBC Sports on Wednesday, Trout said he is anxious to start the season as soon as possible but expressed some concerns about being quarantined away from his family. One of the more personal ones for the Los Angeles Angels star is that his wife is pregnant with the couple’s first child.
.@miketrout wants MLB to come back soon as possible, but brings up a number of issues that would have to be worked out logistically before baseball returns in any fashion. #LunchTalkNBCSN pic.twitter.com/TdPfIVI8Jp
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) April 15, 2020
“What are you gonna do with family members? My wife is pregnant,” Trout said. “What am I gonna do when she goes into labor? Am I gonna have to quarantine for two weeks when I come back? Obviously, I can’t miss the birth of our first child. There’s a lot of red flags and a lot of questions. Obviously, we’d have to agree on it as players. I think the mentality is we want to get back as quickly as we can, but obviously it has to be realistic.”
Trout’s concerns are likely shared by many players across baseball and other sports. MLB has been discussing a plan where all teams would play games in the Phoenix area with players and staff living in relative isolation, and some players have reportedly scoffed at the idea.
If MLB is unable to play all or some of the 2020 season, player salaries will be prorated. That may not be an issue for someone with a massive contract like Trout’s, but there will be other players who don’t make as much who are itching to get back on the field and willing to do whatever it takes.
One of the nation’s top infectious disease experts laid out this week what it will take for sports to resume in the near future, and there would clearly be a lot of issues to sort through. With that will come a wide difference in opinions from players.
