In 1918 — in the midst of a catastrophic flu pandemic — two minor league baseball teams played a game while wearing face masks to avoid getting sick. Though the pink eye and flu outbreaks running through the Milwaukee Brewers’ Spring Training facility in Arizona aren’t as deadly as the “Spanish Flu,” one has to wonder if masks might be on the table because the Brewers have already banned high fives and handshakes.
Brewers manager Ron Roenicke told his players Sunday he is again prohibiting high-fives, one day after lifting the ban. […]
You walk around the Milwaukee clubhouse and it resembles an infirmary. If someone doesn’t have reddened eyes, they’re coughing. If they’re not coughing, they’re sneezing.
And everywhere you turn, there are bottles of hand sanitizer. They are positioned atop all four trash cans in the clubhouse. And there’s a sign in front of the food that says, “Use hand sanitizer before touching utensils.”
According to USA Today, patient zero is outfielder Logan Schafer, who brought pink eye into a clubhouse that just claimed its 12th victim in Brandon Kintzler, a relief pitcher who has thrown three innings so far this spring.
With one eye glazed shut, Kintzler will surely miss some time, and that’s the real shame in all of this. Kintzler’s spot in the Brewers’ bullpen is likely secure, but that isn’t always the case when a clubhouse bug starts knocking people out for days at a time. Real opportunities are on the line, so it’s pretty clear why no one appears to be balking at what sound like silly restrictions. The Brewers also have the worst record in the Cactus League and the second worst Spring Training record in all of baseball, so hopefully these containment measures will work and the Brewers can get back to full health in time for Opening Day.
(Source: USA Today)
