SportsBaseballIndians

Actions

Indians’ Plesac upset with portrayal after COVID violation

Zach Plesac
Posted at 7:03 PM, Aug 13, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-13 19:04:02-04

CLEVELAND — Indians pitcher Zach Plesac feels he and teammate Mike Clevinger have been unfairly portrayed as “bad people” in the aftermath of the pitchers being quarantined by the team for violating COVID-19 protocols last weekend in Chicago.

Plesac said he posted a six-minute video on his Instagram page Thursday to “ get out the truth”to fans about his situation.

The 25-year-old acknowledged breaking team curfew last Saturday after he and Clevinger left the team hotel, went out to dinner and socialized with Plesac’s friends. Plesac had pitched earlier in the day, getting the win as the Indians beat the White Sox.

After the Indians were told by Major League Baseball security about the players being out in public, the team got a car service to drive Plesac home so he wouldn’t risk exposing himself to teammates if he had been infected by the coronavirus.

Clevinger didn’t tell the team he was with Plesac and flew home with the team.

The Indians placed the two right-handers on the restricted list Tuesday, when fellow pitcher Adam Plutko said Plesac and Clevinger had “hurt us bad. They lied to us.”

On Wednesday, manager Terry Francona said Plesac and Clevinger “got some trust to earn back and they’re gonna have to earn that back.”

Plesac maintains his actions weren’t malicious and that he and Clevinger practiced social distancing when they were with a small group at dinner and then afterward. Plesac said he has twice tested negative for the virus and understands the risks he took by going out.

While he didn’t deny breaking the team’s code of conduct implemented to keep players safe, Plesac said reports about him and Clevinger have not been fair.

“The media is terrible, man,” Plesac said in the video. “They do some evil things to create stories and make things sound better and make things sound worse.”

Plesac said he and Clevinger were within CDC guidelines when they left the team hotel and were never with “more than eight people the entire night.”

He feels he and Clevinger are being cast as “bad teammates, bad people and dragged across the mud.”

Plesac said he understands the risks with COVID-19 and that his brother has Type 1 Diabetes and his mother is a nurse.

“It breaks my heart for people to think I’m a bad teammate or a bad person. But I wanted to share with you guys that moving forward, there’s a selflessness lesson taught here and at the end of the day, I want everybody to be healthy. I want to be a good teammate. I want to win baseball games, man. That’s all I want to do.”

Privacy laws prevent the Indians from disclosing test results for Plesac and Clevinger The team has also not said if the pair will be subjected to further discipline.

Additional Coronavirus information and resources:

See complete coverage on our Coronavirus Continuing Coverage page.

Rebound Northeast Ohio News 5's initiative to help people through the financial impact of the coronavirus by offering one place to go for information on everything available to help and how to access it. We're providing resources on:

Getting Back to Work - Learn about the latest job openings, how to file for benefits and succeed in the job market.

Making Ends Meet - Find help on topics from rent to food to new belt-tightening techniques.

Managing the Stress - Feeling isolated or frustrated? Learn ways to connect with people virtually, get counseling or manage your stress.

Doing What's Right - Keep track of the way people are spending your tax dollars and treating your community.

We're Open! Northeast Ohio is place created by News 5 to open us up to new ways of thinking, new ways of gathering and new ways of supporting each other.

Click here for a page with resources including a COVID-19 overview from the CDC, details on cases in Ohio, a timeline of Governor Mike DeWine's orders since the outbreak, coronavirus' impact on Northeast Ohio, and link to more information from the Ohio Department of Health, the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, the CDC and the WHO.

See data visualizations showing the impact of coronavirus in Ohio, including county-by-county maps, charts showing the spread of the disease, and more.

The CDC and the Ohio Department of Health are now recommending the use of cloth face coverings in public to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Read more about the CDC's recommendation here. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make a face maskfrom common household materials, without having to know how to sew.

View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.