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“At this point, nothing shocks me to be honest with you,” manager Alex Cora said.
Forget about the implications of baseball for a minute. Having 10 coworkers testing positive would motivate a lot of people to put aside reservations and get the shot, but the Red Sox remain below the 85% threshold that Major League Baseball has set as a goal for each team.
Manager Alex Cora said on Friday that several Sox players and coaches stayed at a Boston hotel during the last homestand because they didn’t want to risk exposing their families to the virus.
“We wanted to take care of our families,” Cora said. “It’s something that the organization is very proactive about. We love feeling safe even though it doesn’t seem like it, right? – with everything that happens.
Cora tried to further protect her family by having them tested frequently.
Getting vaccinated would help keep these people safe, many of whom are young children. But that didn’t work either.
The Sox have been lucky so far. Only a few of their players have exhibited symptoms and none are severe enough to require hospitalization.
But being a young athlete doesn’t protect you from the ravages of COVID-19. Eduardo Rodriguez was bedridden last summer after contracting the virus and was diagnosed with inflammation of the muscle around his heart.
Seeing a teammate pass that seems like enough motivation to get the shot. But it wasn’t.
Now let’s come to the implications of baseball.
The Red Sox have a chance to play in the playoffs. Their best route at this point would be the wild card and a one-game showdown on October 5 to advance to a division series.
If they’re healthy, the Sox could gain home court advantage and start Sale or Nate Eovaldi against the Yankees, Blue Jays, Mariners or Athletics at Fenway Park.
This is a golden opportunity. Go to the Division Series and anything can happen. But if the Sox field a call-back and drop-out squad in the next few weeks, they could lose that chance.
That’s a reason to get vaccinated, especially when the Red Sox asked medical professionals to explain that the vaccine is safe.
Then there’s next season. A player’s vaccination status will clearly be factored into his worth as a free agent or commercial candidate. Considering what the Red Sox, Yankees and other teams have been through this season, unvaccinated players might not have the opportunities that their vaccinated counterparts will have.
But it didn’t make a difference.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Red Sox clubhouse is a slice of the population. They have players from six countries and 14 states. Some players are college graduates and others dropped out of school as teenagers to pursue their baseball dreams.
There are liberals, conservatives and political agnostics. Some players got the shot the first day they could, and others cling to conspiracy theories or what they read on Instagram and refuse.
In that sense, they’re probably no different from where you work or from your own family. The whole country is fighting over this issue and it seems to get worse by the day.
Cora admitted his frustration, but for the last few days he has accepted that this is the team he has and that he will manage all 26 players on the roster that day.
No matter what it takes for more Red Sox players to get vaccinated, it hasn’t happened yet.
Peter Abraham can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @peteabe.
Peter Abraham can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter @PeteAbe.
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