Nationals' Opening Day Game vs. Mets Postponed Due to COVID-19

The Washington Nationals and New York Mets will have to wait a little longer to start their 2021 seasons. The Opening Day game between the Nationals and Mets has been postponed due to COIVD-19 issues, the Nationals announced on Thursday afternoon. This comes after multiple Nationals players were in close contact with a player that tested positive for the coronavirus.

"Tonight's scheduled game between the host Washington Nationals and the New York Mets at Nationals Park has been postponed because of ongoing contact tracing involving members of the Nationals organization, the Nationals said in a statement. "Out of an abundance of caution, the game will not be made up on Friday. Major League Baseball will continue to provide updates as available."

The Nationals were set to host 5,000 fans for their home opener, the lowest total in all of baseball. Mike Rizzo, Nationals general manager, recently talked about his players getting the COVID-19 vaccine. "We haven't discussed vaccines prior to this, other than it's going to be the individual decision of the players. I got one of my two vaccines, so I'm a proponent of it, and I would recommend it to everybody out there," Rizzo told reporters on Tuesday. "But players are going to make their own decisions on it."

Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer also talked to reporters about the vaccines and said he's ready for things to get back to normal. "I feel like we're really close to the end of this because of the vaccine," he said. "Once we're vaccinated, or I should really say once we have the choice to have that vaccination, the guys who do and the guys who don't, that just is what it is; at that point, I see it as I'm basically done with this. I'm ready to get back to normal. I'm ready for me personally to do everything that we want to do on and off the field and live our lives as normal and best we can."

The postponement comes shortly after President Joe Biden called out the Texas Rangers for allowing full capacity for their home opener against the Detroit Tigers. "Well, that's a decision they made. I think it's a mistake," Biden said. "They should listen to Dr. [Anthony] Fauci, the scientists and the experts. But I think it's not responsible."