Credit: Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports
Three days ago, the NY Daily News reported that Mets and Yankees who are not vaccinated will not be able to play home games this season, under the New York City vaccination mandate for employers.
On Friday, an article from Newsday confirmed that this mandate will be continuing indefinitely, per the new health commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. The mandate bans all employers from returning to work without COVID-19 vaccinations. This includes Mets and Yankees.
“I think it’s indefinite at this point,” Vasan said. “You know, people who have tried to predict what’s going to happen in the future for this pandemic have repeatedly found egg on their face.”
Per Deesha Thosar’s article for the NY Daily News, the Mets found out Wednesday that the mandate would affect them. Brandon Nimmo said the team isn’t focused on it though, being that they just got to spring training after an extended lockout and that they’re trying to get settled in for the season.
“We’re worried about trying to build this team chemistry, trying to get the team ready, be healthy and stay on the field and be ready for the start of the season,” Nimmo said. “When that time comes, I think we’ll have more to say. But for right now, I think let’s let these three and a half weeks play out and see what happens… Right now we’re just trying to focus on baseball and leave the politics out of it.”
While it’s unclear exactly who is and isn’t vaccinated, some players like Max Scherzer, Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor have confirmed their vaccination status. Alonso was more focused on his near-death car crash experience than the implications of the vaccine mandate, while Scherzer had just one thing to say on the matter: “Hopefully logic prevails.”
Catcher James McCann said the mandate is out of the Mets’ control.
New York mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday that he was looking to ease back on some of the mandates, but not by the start of the MLB season. There’s no date set for when the mandate might be lifted, so the Mets have to prepare to follow it. Otherwise, having certain players unavailable for home games would be a huge detriment to the team.
“It’s a very divisive topic that people use to portray someone as a bad guy or a good person,” Mets pitcher Jordan Yamamoto said, per Thosar’s article. “That’s why I don’t believe that any of these things should be talked about. It’s one of those topics like abortion, that you don’t want to talk about. You know people have their own views. You know people have their own opinions on the matter. But to talk about it, it’s only going to create a stigma or persona about someone that doesn’t need to be there.”
Perhaps coincidentally, Yamamoto was sent down to minor league camp Friday in the Mets’ first round of spring training cuts.
Mayor Adams added Wednesday, “I do want to emphasize that our mandates have been among the most important, lifesaving policies that we’ve put into place throughout this pandemic, and it’s helped us build up a wall of immunity, a bulwark against whatever this virus does to change or may throw at us in the future.”
This story will be one to keep tabs on as the season draws nearer and with players having different views on the issue. The Mets (or Yankees) having to play home games without some of their key players would be quite noteworthy.
