New York Mets to take the field again with a doubleheader in Miami

The New York Mets remain in Miami and will take the field again Tuesday with a doubleheader against Miami in Marlin Park..

This was announced after Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen reported that the team’s coronavirus cases appear to be limited to the player and coach who tested positive Tuesday. But since this is still 2020, even the good news is shard in an ominous tone. Not only are the unidentified player and coach symptomatic, Van Wagenen said they are not yet 100 percent, both are much better after battling the worse of the virus for a 36-hour period.

“We do feel comfortable that the spread has not come from player to player or coach to coach,” Van Wagenen said. “Our best guess is that it came from some outside spot, but we don’t know and we may never know.”

The two positive testing put the Mets on the path previously taken by the Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals, but they were both larger outbreaks. The Mets, though, are in the city that first absorbed the virus’ fury. Their ownership group features two octogenarians, and as a former agent, Van Wagenen is accustomed to demanding players receive and heed the best health care advice.

Hitting coach Chili Davis opted out of the season due to underlying medical issues. At least two players, pitchers Jared Hughes and Brad Brach battled the coronavirus this summer. The Mets players regularly wear masks during their Zoom calls with reporters. During one of his calls, Robinson Cano sported a T-shirt that read “Let’s Go Mets. Wear a mask.” In other words, nobody had to remind the Mets this is real.

The likeliest explanation is the scariest: Even the teams and players committing to the most precise of lock downs are vulnerable to outside forces. On a bus. On a plane. In a hotel. In the middle of a pandemic, dangers lurk literally everywhere.

And these two members of the Mets endured what must have been the most frightening 36-hour span imaginable. Twenty nine other teams should be wondering if two — or more — of their players and coaches are next. This is a reminder that nobody is immune to exposure, and it reminds people that the protocols that Major League Baseball has put in place, and the efforts that it’s taken as an organization are smart and hopefully the right ones.

The Mets are still in Miami after their game four of the series there was postponed when it was reported that one of their players and a coach tested positive. They had won the first three outings there that week.