Our Noticias, 5/13/20: Jack McKeon ain’t afraid of no virus

Fearless McKeon enters eighth decade in baseball

Disproportionately affected by COVID-19, the elderly population has been advised to take extra precautions to avoid getting the infection themselves. But Marlins legend Jack McKeon tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that he’s determined to spend another season involved with America’s pastime.

“This is not going to end my career,” the 89-year-old McKeon says. “It might end the year. I’m not going to retire. I’m too young to retire.”

In late 2017, when the Derek Jeter ownership group parted ways with McKeon—who was a longtime front office advisor under the previous regime—he accepted a talent evaluation role with the Nationals. His responsibilities would be far different than last season, however, because of the potential cancellation of the 2020 Minor League Baseball schedule.

During the delayed season, Trader Jack and his wife are settled in North Carolina.

Walk-off links

• Baseball America national writer Carlos Collazo joins Ian Smith and Luis Davila on Earning Their Stripes for a preview of the 2020 MLB Draft.

• FiveThirtyEight polled more than a thousand Americans, most of whom don’t expect sports fan attendance to begin returning to normal until there’s a widely available COVID-19 vaccine.
• The 1997 Marlins have advanced to the second round of The Throwback League, defeating the 1980 Royals, as narrated by veteran radio broadcaster Josh Lewin.
• Key players from that championship-winning team—Kurt Abbott, Antonio Alfonseca, Álex Arias, Jeff Conine, Álex Fernández, Cliff Floyd, Charles Johnson and Robb Nen—reminisced about their epic win-or-go-home Game 7 against the Indians on the Marlins YouTube channel. Here’s a taste of the conversation:

• Jorge Cantú, Mike Jacobs, Hanley Ramírez and Dan Uggla each blasted 25-plus home runs for the 2008 Marlins. They remain the only infield quartet in MLB history to accomplish that. Joe Frisaro of MLB.com has fond memories of that experience.
• This isn’t exactly newsworthy, but during his latest Instagram Live takeover of the Marlins’ official account, Miguel Rojas showed off some of the accolades and memorabilia in his home. You’ll notice those Charlie Hough “Good Guy” awards from 2017 and 2019. Turns out that he’s the only two-time winner in the award’s history!