Mariners coaches who fall in the high-risk category for COVID-19 caught in difficult place

Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Getty ImagesWhile much has changed in our understanding of COVID-19 and how the virus operates from the early days of March, one thing has remained consistent: those individuals in certain “high-risk” categories, such as those over 65 or with pre-existing health conditions, have always been, and continue to be, at greater risk of contracting coronavirus and becoming severely ill and/or passing away due to complications of the virus. As baseball looks to tentatively re-open, one panacea that has been freely passed around is the notion that most players, the majority of whom are in their twenties or early thirties and in prime physical condition, are generally about as low-risk as populations come, with a few exceptions, such as the Rangers’ Jake Diekman, who has ulcerative colitis, a chronic disease that can flare up painfully with no warning. However, even skimming over the entirely false assumption that those in this age group are somehow immune from the deadly effects of the virus, there remains the issue of coaches and managers. For context, the average age of a manager lands somewhere in the early 50s; Joe Maddon will celebrate his 66th birthday this September, while Dusty Baker just turned 71. 68-year-old Ron Washington has said he will wear a mask at all times while coaching third base for the Braves this season. To attempt to protect these populations who are more vulnerable to the deadly outcomes of the virus, some clubs, like the Twins, are sidelining personnel who fall into the high-risk category.

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