Phillies' Zack Wheeler has best possible reason to dislike proposed isolated MLB season
Add Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler to the growing list of players who seemingly want no part of any proposed isolated Major League Baseball season. And his reasoning might be the strongest we’ve heard yet.
Speaking to NBC Sports Philadelphia on Friday, the soon-to-be father made it clear that he will not sacrifice being with his wife for the birth of their first child this summer, regardless of the circumstances.
"I am not going to miss the birth of my first child. I don't care. I'm going to be there for her and the birth of my child. That's a fact. I think anybody would do the same thing. Any dad. Whether I have to come back here (Atlanta) and be with her and miss two more weeks because I have to quarantine to play again, so be it."
MLB suspended its season during spring training due to the COVID-19 outbreak. At this point, there is no clear indication of when, or even if, the season will resume. With MLB and the players’ union determined to play as many games as possible in 2020, multiple possibilities are being discussed in case the green light is given.
The latest proposals have centered around either isolating all 30 teams in Arizona or isolating in Arizona and Florida. The latter scenario would force a one-year realignment of leagues and divisions.
Neither scenario has much appeal to Wheeler. That’s because MLB wants to limit the number of people in and around the operation in order to best protect the players. That means leaving their loved ones behind for up to five or six months.
"I want to be here with her during that time," he said. "It's something special. You'll never get to experience that again, the birth of your first child. They are saying your significant other would not be allowed to be with you. That makes no sense to me. If we're gonna be stuck in quarantine, then why can't they be stuck with us in quarantine?"
Wheeler’s wife, Dominique, is due to give birth in July. Let’s say the season starts on July 1, which at this point might be a best-case scenario. That would put Wheeler in the awkward position of first leaving the team almost right away, and then leaving his wife for several months to complete the season. It’s a lot to ask. The whole scenario would certainly be weighing on his mind more than baseball.
Wheeler, who signed a five-year, $118 million contract with Philadelphia in December, is now a key part of the Phillies rotation. Any time he could potentially miss would hurt the team, especially in a short and compact season. But no one could possibly blame him for putting family first.
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