As the 2016 baseball season continued, it appeared increasingly less likely that the series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins which were to be played in Puerto Rico would be cancelled.
Friday that was confirmed as Major League Baseball officially cancelled the games which were to be played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium because of the Zika virus.
Recently, MLB representatives met with the Pirates and Marlins in order to update both teams on the risks with the Zika virus. At the time, Puerto Rico was on a Level 2 Zika alert.
A MLB press release stated that the Players Association requested the games be moved because several players expressed concerns over contracting and possibly transmitting the Zika virus.
Commissioner Rob Manfred initially decided that players who objected to the trip due to family situations would not be forced to travel to Puerto Rico. When too many regulars from both teams qualified for this, Manfred was forced to relocate the games.
Thursday, a Yahoo! article written by Jeff Passan, first reported that the games were likely to be canceled, and the news became official a little over 24 hours later.
The two-game series which was scheduled for May 30-31 will be played on the same days at Marlins Stadium.
MLB expressed regret over the situation but in the press release mentioned it was looking forward to playing games in Puerto Rico in the near future. MLB also made a donation to the Center for Disease Control Foundation to aid efforts to eliminate the Zika virus in Puerto Rico.
With the series being cancelled in Puerto Rico, MLB will stage several youth baseball and community events in Puerto Rico which Manfred and several former MLB players will attend.
