Art Howe in ICU with COVID-19

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Former Major League Baseball player and manager Art Howe is being held in an intensive care unit with COVID-19, he told Tulsi Kamath of KPCR 2 on Thursday.

The 73-year-old began feeling symptoms on Sunday, which caused his entire body to shake "like a leaf." On Tuesday, Howe tested positive for COVID-19 and, after his condition did not improve, he was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

MLBPA executive director Tony Clark issued a statement, saying, "We're all with him in spirit. I join everyone else in the baseball community in sending along my prayers for a full recovery," according to Alex Coffey of The Athletic.

Howe said he's been making improvements but that his recovery has been very slow. He added that he can be released once he goes 24 consecutive hours without a fever.

Howe's MLB playing career spanned 11 seasons, seven of which as a member of the Houston Astros that were bookended by stints with the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates.

He then became the manager of the Astros from 1989-93 and memorably went on to oversee the Oakland Athletics in the nascent stages of the Moneyball era. Howe most recently managed the New York Mets from 2003-04.