#BlueJays players have been told to travel to Toronto. There’s a charter scheduled to leave from Dunedin on Wednesday. No comment from team at this point.
The Blue Jays expect to be able to train in Toronto, but are awaiting government approval
Photo credit: Wikimedia commons
The Blue Jays are no longer in limbo. The team has been given clearance to travel north to conduct “spring” training in Toronto.
The team was originally set to host training camp at the minor-league complex in Dunedin, but, given how dangerous of a hub Florida has become for COVID-19 cases, the team predictably looked to move elsewhere. Buffalo, where the Triple-A Bisons play, seemed like a good middle ground, but the Jays ultimately opted to fly home.
This is kind of a multi-faceted issue if you’re a Blue Jays fan. On one hand, you should be happy the players and staff are away from the swamp of Florida, which produced 9,000 new reported COVID-19 cases on Friday. But, on the other hand, the Jays will be now bringing a large group of players from that danger zone into Toronto, which could obviously pose a threat to the city.
Also, we don’t yet know if the Jays will be allowed to play their games in Toronto or not, but, given the fact they’ve been cleared to have training camp in the city, you’d assume that government officials would give them the green light to operate out of their home stadium.
The federal government was supportive of Canadian cities (Toronto, Edmonton, and Vancouver) in their bids for becoming hub cities for the NHL playoffs by waiving the 14-day quarantine period, so the Blue Jays and Major League Baseball have probably also sought a similar preferential treatment.
So, yeah, like I said earlier, it’s great to see the players are moving to a safer environment, but it’s obviously worrying that professional sports are able to blast through the health and safety meant to keep Canadians safe.
Let’s hope they quarantine for two weeks!
UPDATE:
Shi Davidi clarified that this is still pending government approval.
Clarifying this: Some #BlueJays players had flights booked today and tomorrow. They’ve been told to hold up as government approval hasn’t come in just yet. Plan is still Toronto if government OKs. Decision hasn’t been made yet.
#BlueJays players have been told to travel to Toronto. There’s a charter scheduled to leave from Dunedin on Wednesday. No comment from team at this point.
Also, Hazel Mae has reported that the team and staff will do a quarantine in the hotel attached to Rogers Centre, which has direct access to the field.
If Blue Jays get final approval to head north, players/staff will be staying at hotel attached to ballpark. They’re required to quarantine, but can go to the field and back to rooms. There is direct access from hotel to ballpark.
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