CHICAGO – Forget about those halcyon first few days of spring training, when arranging for the right tee time on the right golf course is often more challenging than the work on the field.
When major leaguers report this week for spring training 2.0 – or perhaps more accurately, baseball’s first summer camp – time will be one precious commodity with about three weeks to go before opening day.
“We’re going to have some live batting practices the first day they show up. Day one and day two. .. Multiple ups for the starters,” Kansas City Royals manager Mike Matheny said Friday on a video conference call. “These guys are prepared for that. They’ve been hungry for it.”
All across the majors, the race is on to set up travel plans and work out the final details for training ahead of an unforgiving season of just 60 games. After intake coronavirus tests and a mandatory quarantine period while awaiting results, full-squad workouts likely will begin next weekend.
The regular season starts July 23 or 24, leaving a short period for players to prepare and a tricky balance for managers trying to get their teams ready while also worrying about potential health problems that could pop up with more frequency during a truncated training period.