SARS inspiring caution, not panic

MLB eases some fears, but a few Rays say they'll avoid going out into crowds in Toronto anyway.

Rocco Baldelli never has been to Toronto.

The Rays rookie, 21, never has been to Canada despite growing up in Rhode Island.

If he were on vacation, Baldelli said he would like to watch a Blue Jays game at SkyDome. Or see "that tall needle, whatever it's called" in reference to the CN Tower.

But Baldelli probably will not go out at all during this week's trip to Toronto, just in case.

"I heard it was a cool place to visit and there's a lot of stuff to go check out," Baldelli said. "But hopefully there will be other times I can go."

Baldelli's hesitance was due to concerns about severe acute respiratory syndrome. The World Health Organization at one point warned against nonessential travel to Toronto, an advisory that has been lifted.

From the beginning, Major League Baseball has stepped in to educate teams about the disease.

In anticipation of the three-game series with the Blue Jays, which starts at 7:05 tonight, the Rays were briefed about the status of SARS, which is said to be spread through contact. For the most part, the meeting calmed fears.

"I guess they said for the most part it's clean enough," Baldelli said. "I'm not really going to worry. It's not like we're going to be walking around with masks on or anything. But I'll still probably be careful and wash up every time I can."

Veteran Al Martin said that in the meeting players were told SARS had been contained but they advised to avoid crowds in Canada's largest city.

"They just told us to stay out of really populated areas if we can, but then you say, well, the stadium's going to be pretty populated," said Martin, who might take some extra vitamins.

Pitcher Seth McClung was among those initially concerned.

"You've just got to be careful," McClung said. "I don't really do too much anyway, so it won't be too bad."

Rays manager Lou Piniella said walking around and going to restaurants are part of his routine when he travels to Toronto. If there is an off day, Piniella even would go to Woodbine, a racetrack on the northwestern outskirts of Toronto.

That isn't going to change, he said.

"I'm going to Toronto and enjoy the city like I always do," Piniella said. "It's a wonderful city."

Rick Vaughn, Rays vice president of public relations, said everything is status quo from an equipment standpoint.

"It'll be the equipment to the ballpark and luggage to the hotel," he said.

So the Rays may have had some individual concerns but were off to Toronto anyway. As Martin said, they really don't have a choice.

"I guess Major League Baseball says it's safe enough for us to be there, so that's good enough for me," Baldelli said.