JUPITER, Fla. — A light breeze tickled palm trees. The late afternoon light of what the photographers call “golden hour” invited daydreams. A pristine field where the Mets were scheduled to play the Marlins lay empty. A tableau that should have been idyllic instead smacked of poignancy and loss.
Off the left-field corner of the Marlins’ ballpark here, in a concourse that should have been full of sun-burned fans and families leaving with smiles and memories of a day at the ballpark, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announced the cancellation of the first week of games of the now forever-tainted 2022 season. And with that, on what was exactly the kind of day baseball should own, the sport hurtled itself deeper into danger.
Wilfredo Lee/AP
