Hurricane Irma is a record-setting category 5 storm and has Florida in its sights. As was the case with Harvey, baseball is not a top priority when it comes to the potential havoc the hurricane will wreak, but it is something the league, the clubs and their players have to take into account. The Marlins and Rays are taking it into account right now.
While both teams will be on road trips when the storm is expected to reach Florida, their families are still at risk. The Marlins have turned their road trip into a family affair, allowing families of players and staff to travel with the team. Don Mattingly:
Good on Jeff Loria.
The Rays aren’t taking their families with them when they head to Boston for the weekend, but they are making a couple of changes to help them out. From the Tampa Bay Times:
- They pushed their departure back from postgame today until Thursday afternoon to allow more time for players and traveling staff to get their families situated or headed out of town.
- And they will pack for extra days in case they can’t fly back to Tampa as planned on Sunday night and/or if next week’s series against the Yankees needs to be relocated from the Trop.
The Rays are supposed to be back in town on Monday to play the Yankees. If there’s damage or devastation, they may explore relocating the series. The Marlins are not supposed to be back until September 15, so they have a bit more time to figure that out.
Good luck to anyone in the path of Irma. Stay safe.