The Mets and Yankees enter the 2021 season with hope and a prayer COVID is only a distraction. Vaccinations put the mystery behind, though…
The Mets and Yankees need to take notice that Major League Baseball (MLB), per CDC guidelines, will relax restrictions with “on-field players” – once and if they get the CORONA vaccine.
This should be a big deal and an incentive for players to get the vaccine treatment as soon as possible.
That’s because it will enable the players to be “normal” when in the surroundings of their clubhouse and on the field.
Fist bumps when a teammate hits a home run – oh, excuse me – can’t do that is no longer a mortal sin. Walking about the Mets or Yankees clubhouse or sitting in the manager’s office for a chat no longer requires a mask – this is big.
Mets And Yankees – The Mission Ahead
But to get there, the Mets and Yankees must achieve an 85% level of proven vaccinations to comply with the reduced compliance rules.
How nice it would be to return to normal.
However, the crux of the matter is how deeply the Mets and Yankees are committed to “encouraging” their players to receive the shot in the arm.
Like Anything These Days, It’s Not Quite That Simple
Obviously, the decision to do so is an inherent personal issue, and neither the Mets, Yankees or any team can force a player to receive the vaccination.
Imposed from above, the likelihood is that (some) players would rebel if there’s any inclination their status with the Mets or Yankees is on the line if vaccination is refused.
Though not with the team now due to injury, this would seem to be when, for example, Zack Britton, the Yankees union rep, can step in to mediate the process.
Ditto Michael Conforto, the Mets player rep.
Handle with care (during a pressure-packed season to begin with) can be a tricky, and therefore an unwanted distraction, and the last thing the Mets or Yankees need to see is a divided clubhouse about who’s getting or not getting the vaccine.
Therefore, it’s incumbent on the Mets and Yankees front offices to invite the science of what we know and don’t know about the various vaccines into the conversation.
Mets And Yankees: Discover The Science
The information is out there, and it’s climbing every day as new studies are completed – pro (mostly) and con.
Today, for instance, a study revealed the PfizerTech vaccine among adolescents is “100% effective with little or no side effects”.
Already, the Mets have suffered the effects of COVID with their season opener with the Washington Nationals postponed due to several National players testing positive or quarantined due to believed exposure on a charter flight.
Peer pressure to receive the vaccination from teammates will rule – as it should – as opposed to any edict or form of “encouragement” from the powers that be within the Mets and Yankees organizations.
Mets And Yankees: What’s Your Call?
According to abcnews.com, the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros said Monday their players will be offered vaccines before openers and the San Francisco Giants said some of their players already had received vaccination shots.
There’s no news from the home front from either the Mets or Yankees.
But it seems to me as a fly on the wall in either the Mets or Yankees clubhouse; I sure would prefer to roam about freely, and knowing that within these walls, I’m about as safe as I can be…
Neither the Mets nor Yankees, to the best of my research has revealed, has released a statement regarding their efforts to have their players vaccinated – or the percentage of those (without names) who have already done so.
Perhaps it’s time for them to do so.
Readers Have Their Say…
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
