COVID vaccine brings St. Louis Cardinals hope for a normal baseball season
After more than a year of navigating the obstacles of a pandemic which has affected nearly every corner of daily life, light has appeared at the end of many people’s tunnels in the form of a variety of vaccine options which drastically reduce the risks of serious illness or death from COVID-19.
That light is finding cracks into Major League Baseball as well, as players and personnel who have lived under severely restrictive health and safety measures are now approaching eligibility for an inoculation which could push things back toward a semblance of normal.
“I’ve already felt that to some degree,” said Cardinals manager Mike Shildt about the possibility of a return to baseball as he’s always known it. “It’s really nice and refreshing to have fans back even at a smaller capacity.”
The three Florida complexes at which the Cardinals have played games in spring training — Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach and Clover Park in Port St. Lucie — have each hosted fans, and the uptick in atmosphere is palpable.
Busch Stadium has been approved to host fans at 32% capacity when the season opens, and that number is likely to grow in parallel with the percentage of the population that’s vaccinated.
“I am hopeful that we will be able to secure the vaccine for our players, because obviously, that would be helpful as we try to enter into this season,” Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said.
“The understanding of having that vaccine, I think will allow us to have a little bit more freedoms when we travel, and when we try to gather with our families and even in small groups in the clubhouse,” Mozeliak explained. “So the importance of getting that for our team is very high for me right now.”
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has announced all adults in the state will be eligible to register for a vaccine appointment as of April 9. Mozeliak said the team will likely ramp up its pursuit of a large scale solution which could filter through the organization as of that date; both the team and the industry on a larger scale have been leery of the perception that otherwise healthy athletes might be seen to be “cutting the line” in front of more vulnerable segments of the population.
Restrictions based on varying state guidelines for vaccine access have limited the ability of the league office to assist teams in securing the doses they require.
“I don’t think they’ve been able to come up with a direct path to that solution,” Mozeliak said.
The Cardinals expect to break camp and head to Cincinnati next week without having conducted a mass vaccination of their players and personnel. No St. Louis players are publicly known to have received the vaccine, but some members of the team’s medical and training staff have been vaccinated as eligible medical workers.
Cardinals legend Ozzie Smith is perhaps the highest profile person associated with the team who has publicly shared his receipt of the vaccine. On Thursday night, the Hall of Famer posted a photo on Instagram which was captioned with his gratitude for the single dose Johnson & Johnson injection which he received along with thousands of others at a mass vaccination drive held at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park.
The built in time that comes with waiting for eligibility and securing available doses could help the club allay some of the concerns of players who, like those in the general public, may have questions about potential side effects of vaccination.
Hicks, Kim, Shildt and Mozeliak
Pitchers Jordan Hicks and Kwang Hyun Kim have both described a desire to build that understanding and follow the suggestions of doctors; Hicks opted out of the 2020 season due to concerns regarding his Type-1 diabetes diagnosis and Kim frequently spoke last season of the vaccine as a path to his family being able to join him in the United States from Korea.
“Virtually everything I’ve talked to people that I respect in the medical field about the vaccine has been really positive and optimistic about what it can do if widely taken,” Shildt said, reflecting the broad scientific consensus.
Both he and Mozeliak expressed no hesitation in saying they would each individually seek to be vaccinated as soon as they were eligible.
Modeling the NBA
One model which might offer a hint of potential enticements for players is that of the NBA, which has already announced fully vaccinated players will have more flexibility and less frequency in their COVID testing as well as a removal of quarantine requirements due to contact tracing and also the freedom to visit restaurants and social acquaintances on road trips.
Some Cardinals, like pitcher Jack Flaherty, have taken note of that upside.
“I haven’t really thought about it too much,” Flaherty said. “I’m taking it day by day. We’re trying to make the best decisions we can, as we have. We’ve seen with the NBA that they’ve changed some protocols for guys who had their vaccines, so I haven’t really thought too much about it.”
Wainwright in favor of vaccination
For starter Adam Wainwright, the thought process could be even simpler, and the Cardinals are hopeful his attitude is reflected throughout the clubhouse.
“I think, in some ways, the vaccine offers up a great opportunity to, you know, not get sick anymore,” Wainwright said, cutting to the core of the issue. “It’s not like it’s been tested for years and years, so there’s some people who have their questions about it.
“But certainly, to be able to go to a big dinner again, maybe, or something like that, that would be a reason enough for me to do it right there.”
