Markakis had opted out after speaking with teammate Freddie Freeman following his COVID-19 diagnosis. However, Freeman returned to the team in time for Opening Day nearly a week ago as did pitcher Touki Touissant who also tested positive. Pitcher Will Smith is also expected to return soon with utility man Pete Kozma remaining sidelined.
Markakis said he felt guilty about opting out and plans to apologize to his teammates for opting out.
"I bailed out on them, and when I see them I will apologize to them and hopefully be a part of them," said Markakis.
Why does Markakis feel the need to apologize for something he had every right to do?
Could it be that he generally feels guilty? Or was pressure brought to bear upon Markakis to reconsider either by management or his teammates? While I hate the overuse of the word culture, I do wonder if the organizational culture on the Braves frowns upon opting out.
After all, COVID-19 has decimated their NL East rival Miami Marlins and has paused their schedule to at least next week. Who can say the Braves won't experience a similar outbreak? What if Markakis gets COVID-19 and passes it on to relative who becomes seriously ill and possibly dies? How guilty will he feel then?
No MLB player should feel guilty about opting out in order to mitigate the spread of an infectious disease which has now claimed the lives of 150,000 Americans in five months. Nor should any MLB player should be made to feel guilty about opting out.
No comments:
Post a Comment