Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and pitcher Joe Ross are opting out of the 2020 season delayed by the coronavirus outbreak “for the personal health and safety of themselves and their loved ones.”
Zimmerman said, “After a great deal of thought and given my family circumstances — three young children including a newborn, and a mother at high risk — I have decided not to participate in the 2020 season.”
He hit .257 with six home runs and 27 RBIs last season and had a dramatic home run in Game 1 of the World Series… helping the Nats win the title.
Ross was 4-4 last season and was in line to compete to be the Nationals’ fifth starter.
Colorado Rockies outfielder Ian Desmond announced that he will not play this season in a deep, lengthy social media post.
Desmond explained that due to both the COVID-19 pandemic and the massive Black Lives Matter movement happening across the country, he isn’t needed out on a baseball field.
He’s needed at home with his family.
Desmond’s announcement was part of a long story about his time playing youth baseball in Sarasota, Florida — something he’s vowed to help fix — and the intense racism he’s faced as a biracial man growing up in the United States.
He also touched on the lack of diversity in Major League Baseball, as well as cheating, sexism, homophobia and labor disputes surrounding the sport.
“Think about it. Right now in baseball we’ve got a labor war. We’ve got rampant individualism on the field. In clubhouses we’ve got racist, sexist, homophobic jokes or flat-out problems. We’ve got cheating. We’ve got a minority issue from the top down. One African American GM. Two African American managers. less than eight percent Black players. No Black majority team owners.
“Perhaps most disheartening of all is a puzzling lack of focus on understanding how to change those numbers. A lack of focus on making baseball accessible and possible for all kids, not just those who are privileged enough to afford it.
“If baseball is America’s pastime, maybe it’s never been a more fitting one than now.”
Desmond is just the latest player to opt-out of MLB’s 60-game season. Veteran Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Mike Leake was the first to opt-out on Monday, and was quickly joined by Washington Nationals stars Joe Ross and Ryan Zimmerman.
Desmond is in the fourth year of his five-year, $70 million deal with the Rockies. Players are due to report to camp in Denver on Wednesday.
