Nick Markakis Opts Out Of 2020 Season

[atomic]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

Compared to hunkering down at home?  Yes.

You can only hunker down for so long.  My wife has had to go back to work.  I never was off a day for this.   In fact I had to work some weekends as well due to covid.  My daughter's summer camp is full.  The world moves on. 

Baseball is pretty safe as sports go.  Players spread out and they play in great big open outdoor spaces.  Well other than Tampa. I think players will spread this but not when they are playing.  Probably after the game when they are socializing.  

[BohKnowsBmore]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

I don’t see anyone positioning it that way.   1.2% of the players and staff tested were positive, which is a much lower figure than is estimated to exist for the general population.    

Still, I do think there are reasons why the environment of pro team sports would expose players more than an average person.    There’s inevitable close contact at times on the field while people are breathing hard, the dugout (bench in other sports) and locker room are relatively confined spaces, and there’s a lot of travel involved.     Probably not as bad as working a check out line, but worse than a lot of other jobs.

Just as one example, the folks on the Fangraphs fantasy baseball podcast have reacted to every positive test as though baseball has a big problem on its hands, despite the fact that it's likely only a tiny fraction of cases (if any) were picked up during baseball activities. 

[ShaneDawg85]

In all seriousness, Nick's played the game for a long time and is nearing the end of his career, so if he feels it's his in his best interests or his family and teammates best interests not to play, more power to him.  If it turns out he doesn't come back next season as a result I also wouldn't be surprised.  Nick's personality lends itself to the belief he'd quietly step aware not seeking any bit of recognition or attention, and because sitting out a year for non-injury related purposes and coming back is hard to do even when you try to stay in shape.  Of course who knows maybe a year away lets him freshen and heal up and it benefits him, but I wouldn't bet on that.

[Redskins Rick]

24 minutes ago, ShaneDawg85 said:

In all seriousness, Nick's played the game for a long time and is nearing the end of his career, so if he feels it's his in his best interests or his family and teammates best interests not to play, more power to him.  If it turns out he doesn't come back next season as a result I also wouldn't be surprised.  Nick's personality lends itself to the belief he'd quietly step aware not seeking any bit of recognition or attention, and because sitting out a year for non-injury related purposes and coming back is hard to do even when you try to stay in shape.  Of course who knows maybe a year away lets him freshen and heal up and it benefits him, but I wouldn't bet on that.

They shut down the entire MIL system, and not every one of those players will be on the big league club.

I think Nick is a smart veteran and knows what he needs to do, to stay ready for 2021, if thats the path he wants to follow.

[Mr. Chewbacca Jr.]

I always forget that Markakis and Flaherty are related. This article about their relationship is pretty amusing:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23636060/atlanta-braves-brothers-law-nick-markakis-ryan-flaherty-bring-best-other

[Redskins Rick]

1 hour ago, Mr. Chewbacca Jr. said:

I always forget that Markakis and Flaherty are related. This article about their relationship is pretty amusing:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23636060/atlanta-braves-brothers-law-nick-markakis-ryan-flaherty-bring-best-other

Thats a great story and really cool.

 

[OFFNY]

On 7/6/2020 at 2:50 PM, Number5 said:

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/07/nick-markakis-opts-out-2020-season-braves.html

 

I listed this in Orioles Talk so that everyone can see it. Mods, please move to MLB section after a bit of time. Thank you.

 

o

 

(3 WEEKS LATER)

 

MLB is less than a week into its 2020 season, and the Orioles' 2-game series with the Marlins (along with the Yankees-Phillies game tonight) has been canceled ........ there is a decent chance that Markakis' decision may not have him winding up missing much baseball.

 

o

[Redskins Rick]

I think some players were ridicule early on, for opting out.

But, with the recent events in the last 24 hours.

It appears that maybe these guys did make the right decision

[weams]

 

[Redskins Rick]

15 minutes ago, weams said:

 

I know Nick is a gamer, but I never saw this one coming.

 

[Frobby]

6 minutes ago, Redskins Rick said:

I know Nick is a gamer, but I never saw this one coming.

 

Guess the wife and kids were driving him crazy.  

[SteveA]

1 minute ago, Frobby said:

Guess the wife and kids were driving him crazy.  

He'd never had July and August off before, and has just discovered you aren't allowed to hunt deer in those months.

[Redskins Rick]

3 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Guess the wife and kids were driving him crazy.  

Thats why he opted out, was his 3 kids at home, especially now, with the Marlins shutdown because of team positive, just shows how easy this thing spreads.

 

[MurphDogg]

Welcome back and all, but absolutely no reason to throw players that did opt out (or those who still may) under the bus. Classless, in my opinion.

No need to say (or imply) anything negative about players that opted out, just say that he saw that the team could use him and decided it was the right decision for him.

And he was guilted into it by his GM? Super gross.

[Aristotelian]

11 minutes ago, MurphDogg said:

Welcome back and all, but absolutely no reason to throw players that did opt out (or those who still may) under the bus. Classless, in my opinion.

No need to say (or imply) anything negative about players that opted out, just say that he saw that the team could use him and decided it was the right decision for him.

And he was guilted into it by his GM? Super gross.

So seeing them take risks and getting sick made him want to play more? That is bizarre.