I was pretty active on Twitter today. As I sat in the socially-distanced press box at Citizens Bank Park, I saw some baseball writers across the country questioning the wisdom of this condensed 2020 season.
I get the apprehension. Frankly, such concerns could (and likely will) grow in the coming days and weeks as more bad news breaks regarding COVID-19 case surges and geographical hot spots. There will plenty of time to discuss and evaluate those developments.
For today, however, my prevailing takeaway from what I would simply describe as a weird day at the park was that it was just nice to see baseball players finally playing baseball.
If you zeroed in on the swings, analyzed the defensive reps, and studied the field work closely enough, you could almost talk yourself into the idea that it was business as usual at Citizens Bank Park on Friday morning–even if it clearly wasn’t.
If I’m being honest, I’m not quite sure that I can pick the day’s headline story, so let me instead run you through some notes and observations I gathered from the ballpark.
Let’s see how this goes.
Let’s start with the good stuff. Bryce Harper, rocking his J.T. Realmuto t-shirt once again (he says he’s not making a statement about the team re-signing the best catcher in the game) launched some pretty impressive bombs beyond the fences of a vacant Citizens Bank Park.
One such blast rolled into the right field concourse, finishing at Chickie’s and Pete’s. I wasn’t able to grab a video of that swing, but I did capture this majestic blast:
A sight for the sore eyes, for sure.
Harper also met with reporters a little after 1 p.m. and addressed a variety of topics. Some notes there:
As for the workout itself, there were some obvious distancing and grouping modifications in place, but things appeared to run smoothly.
Girardi told reporters after practice that the team utilized 14 different groups between Citizens Bank Park and fields at FDR Park:
Players took and left the field using both clubhouses, with some using the main concourse to navigate the facility. It was hard to see from my viewpoint early on, but I believe some players were grabbing breakfast in the stands behind home plate. Here are some other observations from the session:
Some people may not care about the writers’ experiences, but I know some are interested, so I’ll address that part here.
I give credit to the Phillies’ staff for how things ran on day one. Most of us went in not knowing what to expect, but I personally felt safe. The press box was socially distant and adhered to regulations, which included gratuitous amounts of hand sanitizer:
Notably, writers and team staff members also did a great job following mask policies, as you can see here:
Media members checked in through the normal entrance and were promptly scanned for temperature. John Clark grabbed a good shot of it:
I checked in at 97.2 degrees, meaning each of us will likely come in under the city’s high temperatures for the day.
The Phillies announced this afternoon they have added catchers Henri Lartigue and Logan O’Hoppe to the team’s player pool. Right-hander Anthony Swarzak was also added. Some notes on these guys: