The Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers were among the many Major League Baseball teams to open their respective 162-game schedules Thursday, but where were the members of the Class AA Chattanooga Lookouts?
They were just getting going out in Arizona.
In one of numerous ways the coronavirus pandemic continues to alter the MLB landscape, players projected for Double-A, high Single-A and Single-A have invaded the various spring-training sites that have been occupied in recent weeks by big-league and Triple-A players. Minor league seasons typically begin within a week of the Major League start, but April is being used this year as a separate spring training for the younger or less-proven players on an organization’s developmental ladder.
The Lookouts are scheduled to open their 120-game schedule May 4 against the Rocket City Trash Pandas at AT&T Field.
“Obviously this will be going on when our Major League and Triple-A teams have broken camp and are out there doing their thing,” Reds senior director of player development Eric Lee said. “It’s very different, and we’re just rolling with the punches and going along. To be honest, we’re just so thrilled to be able to be together again and doing what these guys have committed their lives to.