TORONTO — Jamie Romak’s been fielding the questions from his friends at home in London, Ont. for weeks, the bite in their tone increasing as COVID-19 spread further and further across the globe.
How do you feel about going back over there? Is it even safe? Are you crazy?
“And now, as it’s starting to happen on their side of the world, I’m asking them right back: ‘Are you crazy for staying there?’” Romak said this week from Icheon, South Korea. “I was honestly glad to get out of there. I had a few interviews with the Korean media and they were asking if I had reservations about coming over here. I was like, ‘Honestly, no. I’d rather be here than there right now.’”
Yes, things change quickly these days, as most of North America is finding out. This side of the planet is still experiencing the early stages of the devastating impact that can be caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In South Korea, where Romak plays first base for the SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization, they’re weeks ahead.
While many of Romak’s Canadian friends assumed he’d be at greater risk than they were due to his proximity to China, where the coronavirus strain was first identified, the reality is quite the contrary. South Korea has been one of the world’s most successful nations at identifying outbreaks of the virus, limiting its spread, and returning day-to-day life to something resembling normalcy. Meanwhile, in North America, new confirmed cases are increasing daily.
“In places like Japan and Korea, where there’s such an orderly nature, it’s so much easier to contain these sorts of things. Because people actually listen to what they’re being advised to do,” Romak said. “So, everyone locked things down right away and did a great job with it. It’s definitely slowing down. People wear masks everywhere. But that’s pretty much it. I can go grocery shopping and buy toilet paper. I literally just got home from Costco and it’s business as usual.”
Which isn’t to suggest getting to this point has been easy. Confirmed cases were first found in South Korea in January and increased exponentially from there, making a dramatic jump in late February when an infected individual experiencing symptoms attended several religious gatherings at a church in a northern part of the country. According to public health officials, nearly 4,500 confirmed cases — more than 60 per cent of cases across the country — could be traced back to that church, demonstrating how wildly infectious the virus is.
But by March new confirmed cases were declining, as proactive measures and wide-spread testing — including scores of drive-through sites in which South Koreans are tested in their cars and receive results via text message — helped the country identify outbreak clusters early and move quickly to contain them. That swift, aggressive action, paired with widespread citizen buy-in to social distancing efforts, helped lessen stress on the health care system, allowing those who needed help to get it.
In turn, South Korea’s mortality rate from COVID-19 is below one per cent, which stands in stark contrast to the nearly four per cent global rate the World Health Organization has reported, and the 7.3 per cent rate seen in Italy — a nation that was far less compliant with social distancing efforts when its outbreak began spreading. Flattening the curve has worked.
That’s why life in much of South Korea — which has the fourth-most confirmed cases of any country in the world, a reflection of how thorough and wide-spread their testing has been — has returned to something close to normal. Romak’s been frequenting restaurants and grocery stores, where the shelves are well stocked. Universities and businesses are open.
The KBO season remains postponed just like essentially every professional sport across the globe. But there’s hope that games could resume by mid-to-late April, assuming the current decline in new infections continues. MLB, on the other hand, likely won’t begin its regular season until sometime in June or even July.
“Hopefully for us, if it continues to trend the way it’s trending, we can play some baseball in a month’s time. That’s what they’re shooting for, at least,” Romak said. “Teams are sticking close together. Everyone’s staying as ready as possible.”
Now that doesn’t mean Romak’s last few weeks have been stress-free. He actually can’t remember the last time he got more than two consecutive hours of sleep. But that has little to do with COVID-19.
His wife, Kristin, was due to deliver the couple’s second child last month, but went past her due date as Romak began spring training with SK Wyverns in Vero Beach, Florida. Several KBO teams hold portions of their spring training in Florida or Arizona during February and early March, escaping the cold of South Korean winter and taking the opportunity to scrimmage against U.S. minor-leaguers preparing for their seasons.
This year, SK Wyverns split time between Florida and Arizona. And Romak was there with them throughout, his translator hanging onto his phone during training sessions in case Kristin called from London to say their baby was on its way.
But as COVID-19 spread in South Korea last month, causing the cancellation of pre-season games and the postponement of opening day, KBO clubs were forced into tough decisions. Do they head home immediately in case future travel is restricted? Or do they stick around in the U.S. until the situation in Asia cools down?
Some teams, like the Kia Tigers and Lotte Giants, extended their overseas camps. Others, like SK Wyverns, scrambled to jet home as soon as possible. Now, with COVID-19 cases popping up across North America, all teams plan to retreat to South Korea within days. But that won’t include many of KBO’s foreign players, who were sent home with the intention of rejoining their teams two weeks prior to the start of the regular season — whenever that ends up being.
Romak left Arizona even earlier, returning to London a couple days before doctors were due to induce Kristin’s labour because he was concerned he might have trouble crossing the border as COVID-19 began its North American spread. It turned out to be a prudent choice. He got home that night at 12:30 a.m., and by 4 a.m., Kristin’s water had broken.
Pierce Romak — eight pounds, five ounces — was born via caesarean section not long after. He joins his older brother, Nash, who’s three. Everyone’s healthy and happy, which is what’s most important. But Romak can only experience it now via FaceTime, as he quickly turned around and flew to South Korea to rejoin his team this past weekend.
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Romak’s concern was the longer he waited around in Canada, the less likely he’d be permitted to travel to South Korea whenever KBO’s opening day is finally announced. Travel restrictions are being placed. Airlines have been axing flights. Quarantine requirements are being instituted for individuals arriving from virus hot spots. No matter what his friends in London were telling him, Romak was at much less risk of being impacted by COVID-19 in South Korea than he was in Canada.
And having played overseas for four seasons now, Romak knows it can only take one snafu to jeopardize his standing with a team that only contracts three foreign players. So, off he went to Toronto’s Pearson Airport, where he was the lone individual passing through security this past Saturday morning — the first of spring break. It was eerie, to say the least.
“I was like, ‘Man, I just have to get on this flight.’ Because once I get to Korea, I’ve fulfilled my end of the bargain. I’m here. I’m ready to play. If the league wants to delay, they delay. But I’m here,” he said. “Look, obviously your health is No. 1. And you have your family and priorities to take care of. But, ultimately, we have a contractual obligation. If you want to get paid, you have to show up and jump through the hoops. And until the season gets a start date and we start playing some baseball, that still weighs over you.
“It’s just not a situation — a legal situation — I’d want to get myself into if something were to happen or they start cancelling games. If you’re not playing for whatever reason and then they’re looking at you like, ‘What’s going on? We’re not going to pay you.’ Those are natural concerns for probably not just us guys over here but everywhere in these leagues across the world. I just hope for all the other foreign guys that it’s OK for them getting back and it’s not too tricky.”
Romak and his teammates have their temperatures taken twice daily and receive a steady supply of hand sanitizer and protective masks to use when out in public. For now, they’ll repeat a simple four-day schedule — intra-squad game, practice day, intra-squad game, day off — over and over until they learn when they might get to play meaningful baseball games again. It gets a little repetitive but it hasn’t been that different than the 2018 season, when the schedule was paused for three weeks to accommodate the Asian Games.
SK Wyverns won KBO’s championship that season, which meant Romak didn’t return home until mid-November. If missed games have to be made up at the end of this season’s schedule, he’ll likely be facing a similar fate — whether he plays for a trophy or not. And while his family will join him in Korea at some point this season, they won’t be able to stay long, as Nash begins kindergarten in London this fall.
But that’s just reality for guys playing overseas. You make sacrifices to earn good money playing ball while you still can. Romak spent almost all of his 14-season North American career in the minors, making only brief MLB appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks. Over three KBO seasons, the 34-year-old’s far eclipsed the money he made over a decade-and-a-half in the U.S. And he’s had plenty of success on the field, slashing .283/.376/.554 with 103 home runs in 380 games.
And if South Korea’s containment efforts hold, he’ll very likely end up playing ball this season well before his North American colleagues. Of course, things change quickly these days. No country has COVID-19 fully contained. But South Korea’s doing about as good a job as any nation on the planet. And Romak feels a lot better about the precautions that are being taken around him there than the ones he saw back home.
“We’re definitely not out of the woods yet,” Romak said. “But you guys over there are just getting started.”
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