Youthful Blue Jays doing best to stay healthy, hopeful amid COVID stall
“You don’t have the freedom to go out and do certain things you’ve done in the past, but it hasn’t affected us.”
Pete Walker
Pitching coach
TORONTO - As the coronavirus pandemic claims victories around Major League Baseball, the Blue Jays are doing their best not to let the fallout get in the way of their business.
Bad enough that they are the only MLB team not to play out of their home stadium in this 60-game season and that they are now among those displaced by COVID-19 postponements, but seven games into the season, the young Jays vow they are still rolling with it.
“We’ve been put through the wringer. We’ve been in limbo ever since spring training was cancelled,” Jays shortstop Bo Bichette said on a Zoom press conference prior to a Sunday afternoon workout in D.C., where the team has been for a week. “We’re still in limbo. But we’re going to continue to battle no matter the circumstances.”
After completing a fourgame series against the Nationals on Thursday, the Jays have been in that state of limbo ever since after a weekend set in Philadelphia was postponed due to COVID precautions around the Phillies. The Jays were scheduled to fly to Atlanta on Sunday night where they will bring their 3-4 record back into play with a three-game series against the Braves scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
As positive tests for the virus are wreaking havoc around the league — particularly with the Florida Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals — Bichette said Jays players have remained diligent to stay healthy and safe.
“For us, there’s no thought of what (other teams are) doing,” Bichette said. “We’re just focused on what we can do. We’re just going to do our best to stay healthy and whatever happens, happens
“We’ve done a really good job. Nobody’s done anything out of the ordinary as far as I know. Obviously, we’ve been pretty healthy and no positives since the season started. I’m definitely happy with the way we’ve handled this.”
For the most part, the Jays say they’ve been living close to a quarantine while on the road, rarely straying from the hotelto ballpark-to hotel routine. It’s led to tedium at times, but after getting indoctrinated into the strictest of protocols during summer camp in Toronto, pitching coach Pete Walker says the Jays’ travelling party has been adjusting.
“I think we’re used to it, as crazy as it sounds,” Walker said during his turn on the Sunday Zoom scrum. “Initially, when we started this whole process, you heard a little more complaining and guys not really knowing what it entails. But after we’ve done it, it’s different.
“It’s not ideal. You don’t have the freedom to go out and do certain things you’ve done in the past, but it hasn’t affected us. We’ve kept the guys focused and we’ve kept them working. It hasn’t affected my approach or the players approach so far.
“I know we’re still in for the long haul. I think the team that says healthy and stays focused and takes this seriously is going to prevail.”
Though the Jays have a 3-4 record, it could easily be 5-2, a recognition that has helped keep the young team buoyed. Two extra-inning losses and a couple of late collapses have been frustrating, but they’ve played the World Series champion Nats four times and a good Tampa Bay Rays squad for three.
“The feeling around the clubhouse is that we outplayed the other team in all but probably one of the games,” Bichette said. “We are definitely very confident. We had the opportunity to put teams away as an offence and we didn’t. But definitely, the first week brought the confidence up a lot more.”