St. Louis Cardinals: Willie McGee bounces and I don’t blame him
Several St. Louis Cardinals players have tested positive for COVID-19 and the team is looking at a daunting schedule. Willie McGee has decided he wants no part of it.
Three weeks into the season the St. Louis Cardinals sit with a 2-3 record, having only completed a small fraction of the games on their schedule. The reason they have been shut down is because several of their players have tested positive for COVID-19. For this issue, coach Willie McGee has decided to opt-out of the remainder of the year.
Players and coaches alike have had this opportunity to opt-out from the beginning of the year. A few chose this route, though the majority decided to trust the system which had been set up for them by Major League Baseball. A system which is to keep everyone healthy.
Over the course of the season, we have seen many flaws in this system. The Cleveland Indians had a couple of players flaunt the rules. The New York Mets had a high profile player skirt the system. The Cardinals had team personnel go to a casino prior to their COVID-19 outbreak.
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The decisions of a few have affected the lives of many. This blatant disrespect of the game and the rules the MLB put in place has now cost the team the coaching abilities of one of their all-time greats.
McGee will forgo the remainder of the season because he is concerned about his health and the safety of his family. At 61 years of age, McGee suffers from high blood pressure and lives in the same house as three of his daughters and a handful of grandchildren.
What does McGee serve to gain by continuing on as coach this year? The arduous schedule the Cardinals must endure to get caught up, will only be more wear and tear on McGee.
I admire McGee for starting the year with the team and taking precautions to keep himself and others safe. Too bad other members of the team didn’t have this same respect.
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I hope Willie McGee finds his way back to the team in following years once the pandemic has subsided. He is a great baseman man and deserves to be sharing his wealth of baseball knowledge with others.