The Baltimore Orioles begin the second half of the season tonight at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas Cit with the first of three against the Kansas City Royals. It’s really only the second half by virtue of the fact that the All-Star game was this past week. Every team in baseball has already passed the 81-game point.
But as we go into the weekend and the immediate interim here’s something to watch; last night’s Yankees/Red Sox game was canceled due to several NY players testing positive for COVID-19. One of those players was Aaron Judge, who was obviously an all-star.
Both Trey Mancini and Cedric Mullins participated in the all-star festivities. Both in different capacities, but they both participated. Presumably, they will both need to be tested now for COVID-19.
I’m making a broad assumption here, but I believe both players were vaccinated. Mullins reads PSA’s encouraging fans to get vaxed before home games. And Mancini, being a cancer survivor…needless to say it would stand to reason that he would have gotten the vaccine. But ultimately I don’t know that for sure, and at the end of the day it’s actually none of my business.
However mind you that the vaccine MIGHT only protect people from the severe symptoms which could land someone in the hospital. In fact? Many people will only be infected on an asymptomatic basis. Whether or not it stops an infected person from spreading the virus is another story. So both players will have to be tested, and they’d in theory have to sit out if they test positive.
The Orioles aren’t the only team in this predicament – every player on the AL roster would have shared a clubhouse with Judge. So that could be a massive issue as the league opens back up for the second half. Between last year and this year, the Orioles have never had a player test positive.
Again, the Birds open up the second half tonight against Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium. Keegan Akin gets the start for the O’s, and Kansas Coty has yet to announce a starter. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.
Birdland Crush 