Could The Postponed MLB Games Cause The Entire Season To Be Canceled?

• Two MLB games were canceled Monday after 14 players and staff of the Miami Marlins tested positive for coronavirus.
• The New York Yankees also postponed their game Tuesday after postponing Monday’s game as well.
• DraftKings instantly saw a negative effect of the news, as their stocks dropped almost 13% in a few hours.
• The odds are likely that the season will continue but this has caused many to lose faith in the return of the season.

NEW YORK – The success of the 2020 MLB season has been threatened as two MLB games were postponed Monday night due to coronavirus outbreak.

The Baltimore Orioles vs. the Miami Marlins and New York Yankees vs Philadelphia Phillies did not play as scheduled after it was reported this morning that at least 14 Miami Marlins players and staff have tested positive for COVID-19.

The positive test results led to a canceled team flight back to Maimi for the Marlins after playing in Philadephia this weekend. The Yankees and Phillies also postponed their game on Tuesday.

There were only 29 players and staff in the league that tested positive for COVID-19 since baseball had returned and now that traveling has commenced, the MLB is getting its first signs of disaster.

Even if no one else on the Marlins team contracted the virus, it is still almost a third of the 30-player roster that now has to be replaced going forward. However, additional players were added to the positive list on Tuesday.

Not only does this mean the Marlins must replace players but also this could cause a larger domino effect that would shake the reality of the season that Dr. Anthony Fauci says must be monitored on a “day to day” basis

Through distancing protocols were in place, the Marlins just ended a three-game series with the Phillies on Sunday and were in Atlanta last week for a scrimmage with the Braves. The positive players came in contact with multiple players who could have potentially contracted the virus which could throw the league into a whirlwind since all upcoming games are not suspended.

Baseball fans can only hope that the virus outbreak is limited to the Marlins team because if not, the virus could cause a fallout leaving the only choice to be no 2020 MLB season.

Contact tracing has been done to find the origin of the virus but the start of the outbreak is still unknown.

There is no stated rule on what it would take to cancel or halt the season so the decision is up to the discretion of Commissioner Rob Manfred. The commissioner sat down with MLB Network to answer questions most fans have on Monday

 

Manfred said that the Marlins could be back in action as early as Wednesday against the Orioles if test results are “acceptable”. When asked what it might take for a team or the league to suspend play due to COVID-19 concerns, Manfred responded saying it would take “a team losing a number of players that rendered it completely non-competitive.”

He also explains that there would be a shutdown of the season if the numbers of positive test results league-wide gets to the point where it is what the league deems is a health threat. There is no indication that this Marlins’ coronavirus outbreak will force the MLB to pause or cancel the season.

The Effects On Sports Betting

Last weekend featured the first games of the Major League Baseball season and many legal sportsbooks expected huge baseball betting numbers for the long-awaited Opening Day.

Postponing or canceling games, especially this early in the season, has proven to be the complete opposite of what sportsbooks need. There are sportsbooks that are feeling the effects in only hours of the news breaking as it has led to many believing the season will not continue.

DraftKings saw their stock drop nearly 13% on Monday afternoon in response to the outbreak.

This news of the number of coronavirus cases has increase doubt on the successful return of live sports seasons in the US and the legal sports betting spike many were anticipating would come with that.

A mid-season cancelation has now become a harsh but very possible reality. The Marlins are the first teams to have found themselves in a nightmare position only three days into the 60 game season.

News tags: Baltimore Orioles | Coronavirus | Miami Marlins | MLB | New York Yankees | Philadelphia Phillies | Rob Manfred