Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen is not happy about the Marlins’ recent COVID-19 outbreak
Monday evening’s series opener between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees was long-awaited — albeit it finishing in a loss for manager Joe Girardi in his return to Yankee Stadium.
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For veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen, he was disappointed about the team’s fourth game of the season; not so much about the result opposite Cy Young contender Gerrit Cole, but for the reasoning behind why it took place a week later than it should have.
Recently joining The Athletic’s “Starkville” podcast, McCutchen voiced his thoughts about the Phillies’ games last week being postponed due to the Marlins’ COVID-19 outbreak.
"“I’m sitting here at home, watching 28 to 27 to 26 other teams play, and we’re sitting at home — all [testing] negative by the way. And we have to watch this happen while we did nothing wrong. So for me, that was very upsetting. It was very upsetting that we did everything right, and we were still the ones paying for it.”"
“I was upset at everything that’s transpired through that — whoever decided to step out or not necessarily follow the health and safety protocol. That upset me,” McCutchen told The Athletic. “What made me angry was that we, as the Phillies — we were the ones that ended up having to pay for that.”
Andrew McCutchen was not thrilled with how the Marlins handled COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/Sgy8EltKCO
— FanSided (@FanSided) August 4, 2020
The left fielder continued that the Phillies followed all of Major League Baseball’s health and safety protocols.
“We knew that was important. We understood that’s what we needed to do to be able to play this game,” he said. “And we did everything right. And we paid for it. And so for me, that was upsetting.”
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Thankfully, it seems no Phillies players tested positive for COVID-19; it has since been announced that two of the previous three announced positive tests among Phillies staff members were false-positives.
It is not known whether the third positive test was due to being near the Marlins, or from a separate instance. That is great news all in all, for the people involved — the Phillies and the league as a whole.
Regarding the Marlins coronavirus outbreak, Marlins CEO Derek Jeter says that there was a “false sense of security,” adding: “The entire traveling party got a little too comfortable.”
The Phillies are back to playing baseball; after a doubleheader on Wednesday and the series finale on Thursday against the Yankees, they will head to Atlanta for a four-game stretch against the Braves.