All MLB Fans Should Read Ian Desmond's Powerful Instagram Post About Opting Out of 2020 Season

On Monday, a handful of MLB players -- including Mike Leake, Joe Ross and Ryan Zimmerman -- came forward to reveal that they would be sitting out the 2020 restart, citing their concerns about playing amid the coronavirus pandemic as the primary factor in their decision.

Colorado Rockies infielder Ian Desmond joined his colleagues that night, but referenced an array of variables as his reasoning in a powerful and lengthy Instagram missive.

As you can see, Desmond considered a lot when mulling over whether to play this year. The two-time All-Star touched on a slew of issues, including the coronavirus, racism in baseball and society as a whole, the role Little League played in his life while he was growing up in Sarasota, Florida, and what it means to be a biracial person in America.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has made this baseball season one that is a risk I am not comfortable taking," wrote Desmond. "But that doesn't mean I'm leaving baseball behind for the year. I'll be right here, at my old Little League, and I'm working with everyone involved to make sure we get Sarasota Youth Baseball back on track. It's what I can do, in the scheme of so much. So, I am."

"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. 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," he continued.

Desmond continued to take a stand against MLB culture and how it operates by white rules that includes forcing players to function like robots. For example, pimping home runs and playing with flare has been forbidden, formally or informally, for years. He even thanked former manager Davey Johnson for letting him be himself and questioned how much more he could've "thrived" if other skippers had taken a similar approach.

If you consider yourself a baseball fan, take a few minutes out of your day to read Desmond's post in its entirety. You simply aren't going to find such raw and genuine emotion anywhere else.