Here's everything we know about Justin Turner testing positive for COVID-19 in the middle of the World Series
It was a stunning moment that is overshadowing some of the excitement over the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the World Series.
In the middle of Game 6 on Tuesday in the eventual win over the Tampa Bay Rays, in the eighth inning, Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner was pulled from the game after playing the whole time up until then.
The reason, it turned out? He tested positive for COVID-19.
It’s confounding for a variety of reasons, given that players were in a bubble of sorts for the postseason. So let’s dive in and tell you everything we know so far as of Wednesday morning, and attempt to answer those questions.
How did this happen?
Turner was lifted in the eighth inning, with no initial explanation given. But after the game, the news broke about the positive test:
Right, but HOW did this happen?
Per USA TODAY Sports, it was during the game that Major League Baseball had received Monday’s test results, which — according to ESPN — were “inconclusive.” The Tuesday sample was then tested and it was positive.
Why were the test results being look at during the game and not before?
That’s not clear at the moment, and a big question that needs to be answered to explain how the heck this happened in the first place.
Was he symptomatic?
According to Turner himself, no.
What happened to Turner afterwards?
He was isolated in a doctor’s office in the clubhouse of Globe Life Field.
So why am I seeing videos and photos of Turner on the field celebrating with his teammates?
Per one report, he just … did it. And his teammates seemed okay with it because he was in close contact with them anyway.
By the way, specifically he was hugging them and, at one point, took off his mask while snapping photos:
And MLB allowed that?!
According to the Wall Street Journal, when officials found out, they tried to get him to leave the field and he refused.
What did the Dodgers say about all this?
Here’s the quote from Dodgers president Andrew Friedman, which doesn’t seem like a very good explanation at all:
Here’s Mookie Betts (via USA TODAY Sports):
“He’s part of the team. Forget all that. He’s part of the team. We’re not excluding him.’’
What happens next?
On Tuesday night, the Dodgers and their families got rapid PCR tests when they came back from the stadium, and they’ll be tested again Wednesday morning.