Yankees' Ignorant Decision to Vote on Staying at Spring Training is Setting a Terrible Example

The New York Yankees held a players only meeting this week after receiving word from general manger Brian Cashman that the MLB decided to suspend Spring Training and delay the regular season for a minimum of two weeks amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Not only did the club decide to remain in Tampa and continue informal workouts, but reliever Zach Britton claimed that the voting was unanimous to arrive at the decision.

It goes without saying that the Yankees are baseball's gold standard, and the organization is simply setting an awful example for the rest of the league.

Like clockwork, it was subsequently reported that the Mariners, excluding three unnamed players, have opted to wait out the hiatus at their preseason camp in Peoria.

Is Seattle's settlement solely the fault of the Yankees? Absolutely not, but it's impossible not to believe that more Mariners players would have returned home if New York had displayed a little less ignorance in its final verdict. If the entire league is calling it, there's no reason to make a statement to try and have the show go on.

Just stop and think about it for a second. A plethora of MLB insiders and team executives have come forward to claim that this stoppage will last much longer than the reported two-week minimum. ESPN insider Jeff Passan understands that the hiatus could extend until May, so it's not like the Yankees are waiting out a brief postponement here.

The COVID-19 pandemic is claiming the lives of thousands across the globe. The entire country of Italy is on lockdown. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency. And the Yankees didn't even think twice about leaving Tampa.

We're not asking the Yankees to live in fear, and we respect the fact that the team is focused on developing chemistry, but humility goes a LONG way in a time like this. Aaron Boone's side showed hardly any of it with the decision to stay at Spring Training.