Sullivan
now, whether it’s an intrasquad game, batting practice or just watching coaches hit fungos.
Alas, that’s not going to happen.
The idea of fans stepping inside ballparks this year appears to be a pipe dream with the coronavirus still spreading across the country at breakneck speed.
But wait.
Didn’t the minor-league Dogs allow fans inside their ballpark in Rosemont just this week? Is it that crazy to think fans could be allowed into Wrigley at some point in 2020?
“I’m more focused on what’s going on on the field,” Cubs President Theo Epstein said Friday. “But I join the rest of the organization in having tremendous concern for our fans’ safety and health as well. That comes first. And so I’m not an expert in this area, but we’ll certainly be following the lead of the experts in letting them tell us when it’s safe for fans to start attending games, and we’re certainly not at that point right now.”
Without fans, some teams — including the Cubs, Sox and Angels — have resorted to piping in crowd noise during their practice games to make up for the sounds of silence, as the Korea Baseball Organization has done for games televised on ESPN.
It’s not known if it will continue at ballparks during the season, and players are still getting used to the fake noise.
“Anything you can do to try (to) make it as normal as possible (is OK),” said Cubs starter Jon Lester, who admittedly hasn’t heard the sound effects because he has yet to pitch in a game. “Obviously you can look in the stands and not see anybody. If you have that noise, maybe it helps for some guys, kind of keeps them focused.
“Or maybe it doesn’t. I don’t know.” Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon knows, and he was more upfront about the issue, calling his team’s decision to use fake crowd noise “stupid.” Rendon said he would rather play in a noise-free ballpark.
“Definitely, without a doubt,” he said. “It’s like you have two of your senses that aren’t coinciding with one another. It’s like you’re looking at a pizza, but you’re smelling a hamburger.
“You hear noise but you know nobody’s in the stands. You don’t see anybody. I think it was dumb. I’d rather listen to music.”
The Cubs’ sound effects seemed cheesy to me, especially the fake “Javy, Javy” chant when Javier Baez came to the plate. If the Cubs wanted to use realistic sounds of Wrigley, they’d get Ronnie “Woo-Woo” Wickers to yell “Cubs, woo” a hundred times into a tape recorder or have someone stomp on empty pop cups to simulate the sound of the end of a game. (Many a “10th Inning” show with Jack Brickhouse had empty pop-cup sounds as a backdrop following a Cubs loss).
Or maybe a chant of “left field sucks,” followed by “right field sucks,” would make Cubs outfielders and TV viewers feel more at home. The possibilities are endless.
Unfortunately, the Cubs declined to make their sound-effects person available for an interview. Who knows what controversial thing they might say?
Meanwhile on the South Side, the Sox have had a relatively noise-free atmosphere during their practice games — although they piped in some crowd noise during their intrasquad game Saturday. Eloy Jimenez’s constant chatter might have to suffice for background noise, which is fine with me.
The Sox did make one concession, giving fans the opportunity to purchase a cardboard cutout of themselves to be displayed in the empty stands during the opening series, with proceeds going to Chicago White Sox Charities. It was an instant hit, with more than 1,500 cutouts netting more than $55,000.
If they repeat this idea for the City Series, I’d expect hundreds of Bartman cutouts in the stands.
I asked the Sox if they would at least allow fireworks at the ballpark for Sox home runs, hoping to retain some sense of normalcy. The Sox informed me no decision has been made.
Let’s hope it happens, because the Sox without fireworks would feel as strange as the lakefront without open beaches.
No matter what happens at Wrigley or Sox Park, at least there will be real games to watch on TV in a couple of weeks, depending on your local cable provider.
Sure, it’s going to be a little weird, but this town can handle weird.