As MLB prepares for the delayed start of their season amid the COVID-19 pandemic later in July, Colorado Rockies outfielder Ian Desmond will be opting out of returning to play this season citing high risk.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has made this baseball season one that is a risk I am not comfortable taking,” Desmond wrote in a post on his official Instagram page.
“With a pregnant wife and four young children who have lots of questions about what’s going on in the world, home is where I need to be right now,” Desmond wrote. “Home for my wife, Chelsey. Home to help. Home to guide. Home to answer my older three boys’ questions about Coronavirus and Civil Rights and life. Home to be their Dad.”
Desmond shared his thoughts as a biracial man on the racial issues in the country, in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
Desmond also spoke of a recent visit to the Sarasota, Florida baseball fields that he played on while he was kid, and how the field is currently looking run down and neglected.
Why can’t we support teaching the game to all kids — but especially those in underprivileged communities?” Desmond wrote. “Why aren’t accessible, affordable youth sports viewed as an essential opportunity to affect kids’ development, as opposed to money-making propositions and recruiting chances? It’s hard to wrap your head around it.”
Desmond batted .255 with 20 home runs and 65 RBIs in 140 games for the Rockies during the 2019 season.
