Baseball

SARS scare unnerves Jays

Toronto players are being advised to avoid contact with fans and crowds when they head home today.

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer

© St. Petersburg Times
published April 24, 2003

ST. PETERSBURG -- Blue Jays players are concerned about the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome but don't expect their lives to be drastically different when they return to Toronto tonight.

"It's a scary thing," pitcher Tanyon Sturtze said. "This is a disease that's killed some people."

Major League Baseball is advising teams visiting Toronto to take precautions, such as avoiding crowds, contact with fans and public transportation.

That's a little tougher for players who live there.

"We do have to play it safe and we do have to follow the rules and the warnings that are given," first baseman Carlos Delgado said, "but life goes on."

The Devil Rays are scheduled to visit May 13-15, but manager Lou Piniella said he was not concerned about their potential exposure as they spend most of their time at the hotel and stadium. Trainer Ken Crenshaw will participate in an MLB conference call today to get the latest information on precautions.

"It doesn't worry me, but I do worry about the Toronto players," Piniella said. "They're there every day and they travel around, too. It's a problem. I'm sure baseball will do everything it can to alleviate the problem as much as possible."

Several Blue Jays said it was unnerving to see people in masks and to hear of quarantined areas. Pitcher Cory Lidle said he had to show identification and don a mask when he took his son, who had an earache, to a seemingly deserted hospital.

Reliever Doug Creek, a former Ray, is especially concerned for his wife and 8-month-old son, Colton, who was born six weeks prematurely and has an underdeveloped immune system.

"What's so scary is you don't know if something that you're doing or someplace you're at could lead to you contacting it," Creek said.

Creek considered sending them to the family home in Palm Harbor but didn't think that would necessarily be any better given the discovery of SARS cases in Florida.

"I don't think we're safe anywhere," he said.

The Blue Jays will open a nine-game homestand as scheduled Friday. Team president Paul Godfrey said there has been an overreaction to SARS, which has been noticeable at the box office.

"Toronto is not quarantined," Godfrey said. "As a city, it's okay. It's business as usual. We're still open for business."

In an effort to avoid contact with fans, Sturtze said players would like the team to suspend the pregame autograph signing session. "I don't think we should be doing that right now until they figure out what's going on and get control over it."

-- Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.