As fear and uncertainty continue to build around the Zika virus, Major League Baseball is reportedly considering moving a series later this month between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins from Puerto Rico to Miami. According to Yahoo's Jeff Passan, players from both the Pirates and Marlins expressed their concerns about playing the May 30-31 series in San Juan and MLB is listening.Players from the Pirates and Marlins banded together in recent days to let Major League Baseball know they want to move the two-game series at Hiram Bithorn Stadium to Miami instead, sources said, a view shared by some club officials and staff members as well. Despite the widespread implications – including a possible effect on league relations with Puerto Rico as well as opening a Pandora's box for athletes leading up to the Summer Olympics in Brazil, another Zika-affected country – MLB is not expected to oppose the players' choice, sources told Yahoo Sports.
Zika has been associated with birth defects for children born to infected mothers, and the disease can be transmitted sexually, so the concerns are not exactly unfounded for young families. Players also recently met with officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and they were not able to guarantee an infection-free trip. Adding to fears, confirmation of the first U.S. death from the virus came just last Friday: the CDC announced that the February death of an elderly man in Puerto Rico was due to complications of Zika.As Passan notes, experts expect the virus to make its way to the American mainland by this summer and warm climates (like Miami's) will be particularly susceptible. So it may make little difference if players are exposed a month or two earlier, however there is something to be said for not going out of your way to get infected. There is also the matter of just how little we know about the disease, and it only increases the feeling of a panic. All of which puts Puerto Rico in a terrible position. Widespread fear and speculation from outsiders will not help a community already infected, and the mounting financial crisis and debt defaults make it near impossible to combat the disease.In a letter to Congress on Monday, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew made the argument for assisting Puerto Rico, especially in light of the Zika virus:"Unsealed septic tanks, abandoned homes, cemeteries, piles of old tires, where mosquito larvae grow, for example, must all be treated, but the government is struggling to pay for the work to be done," Lew wrote. "Unless Congress passes legislation that includes appropriate restructuring and oversight tools, a taxpayer-funded bailout may become the only legislative course available to address an escalating crisis."
Another, less pressing concern is the reason for the game's location in the first place. The series was meant to honor Pirates legend and Puerto Rico native Robert Clemente—who died while flying relief to Nicaragua following a massive earthquake in 1972—with the second game being played on Roberto Clemente Day, and celebrated across the league. Moving the game might make for bad optics, but if the players and team executives have legitimate health and safety concerns, what else can Major League Baseball do but listen?[Yahoo] 