When the Dodgers begin their abbreviated spring training workouts next week in Los Angeles, Rick Honeycutt won’t be there.
“When all this started,” Honeycutt said of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, “(Dodgers president of baseball operations) Andrew (Friedman) told me to get on a plane, come home and stay here until it was over. So that’s what I’m doing.”
That doesn’t mean that the Chattanooga native’s days on the Dodger Blue payroll are over after retiring as pitching coach at the close of last season, his 14th straight in that position. He’s still with the organization as a special assistant. Whenever the minor leagues resume play, there’s a good chance he’ll drop by a ballpark or two to see how the farmhands are doing.
But until then, somebody in government should hire him to become Czar of the COVID-19 Mask.
“If I were coaching this year, I don’t know that I’d wear a mask when I was on my computer or alone in a hotel room, but I’d absolutely wear one around others,” Honeycutt said Friday after recording a 1-under-par 71 on the difficult course at Council Fire Golf Club. “How can you not?”