Blue Jays in talks to play at Pittsburgh’s park Giants manager kneels for anthem
TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays are talking to the Pittsburgh Pirates about sharing their major league ballpark this season after Canada’s government barred them from playing in their home stadium amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Pirates president Travis Williams confirmed the talks and sounded ready to welcome the Blue Jays.
“In an effort to help in the return of the game we all love, we continue to have active discussions with Major League Baseball and the Toronto Blue Jays organization regarding the possibility of hosting home games for the Blue Jays at PNC Park this season,“Williams said in a statement Monday.
“This will be a monumental challenge for our staff, but leaning in to help others is what Pittsburghers do best. If we are able to safely accommodate, not only will it bring additional international attention to our city, it will also bring with it jobs and revenue for local hotels, restaurants and other businesses that will support the Blue Jays organization as well as additional visiting teams.”
The Pirates are led by former Blue Jays executives Ben Cherington and Steve Sanders.
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said earlier Monday that his team has more than five contingency plans and was in talks with other teams. He declined to name them.
Canada denied the Blue Jays’ request to play at Rogers Centre because the regular-season schedule would require frequent travel back and forth from the United States, where COVID-19 cases are surging.
Atkins said if the Blue Jays can’t find a major league park, their Class AAA affiliate in Buffalo, New York, would be their most likely site for home games.
Atkins said if the Blue Jays end up in Buffalo, their alternative training site for extra players would be in Rochester, N.Y.
Fauci selected to toss first pitch
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the first game of Major League Baseball’s pandemic-delayed regular season.
The Washington Nationals announced Monday that Fauci — a self-described fan of the reigning World Series champions — accepted the team’s invitation to have the pregame honor Thursday night.
The Nationals host the New York Yankees to open the season nearly four months after it originally was scheduled to begin. Spring training was halted in March because of the COVID-19 outbreak and teams resumed preparing to play this month.
San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler and several of his players knelt during the national anthem before Monday night’s exhibition game against the Oakland Athletics.
Right fielder Jaylin Davis and first base coach Antoan Richardson, both African American, also took a knee, with shortstop Brandon Crawford standing between them with a hand on each of their shoulders. Davis held his right hand over his heart, while Richardson clasped his hands in front of him.
Kapler, beginning his first season managing the Giants after two disappointing years guiding the Phillies, didn’t discuss his plans to kneel in a pregame session with media members.
Kapler has been outspoken about social injustice and racial issues and athletes’ roles in helping spur positive change.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started taking a knee during the national anthem in 2016 to protest racial inequality and police mistreatment of minorities. He was roundly criticized for years, but public sentiment has changed since George Floyd’s death in May.
Floyd, a black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck while Floyd was handcuffed and saying that he couldn’t breathe.
Former A’s catcher Bruce Maxwell in 2017 became the first major leaguer to kneel for the anthem since Kaepernick began his silent protest.
Braves remove ‘Chop On’ sign
The Atlanta Braves have removed a “Chop On” sign that sat near an entrance to Truist Park and are still considering their stance on the fans’ tomahawk chop chant.
The removal of the wooden sign came as the team changed its slogan from “Chop On” to “For The A” for the 2020 season.
The Braves have announced firm plans to keep their team name. The team said in a letter to season ticket holders on July 10, “We will always be the Atlanta Braves.”
The NFL’s Washington team has announced plans to change its team name from the Redskins along with dropping its Indian head logo, and baseball’s Cleveland Indians are considering changing their name.
Odds and ends
The Baltimore Orioles placed outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. on the 10-day injured list Monday, and manager Brandon Hyde isn’t sure if lefthander John Means (sore arm) will be able to start the opener at Boston on Friday night. Smith recently returned to the team after testing positive for COVID-19 and still needs time to get into baseball shape. … Casey Mize is not starting the season with the Detroit Tigers, who reassigned him and several other top prospects to their alternate training location Monday. Mize, a righthander who was the top pick in the 2018 draft, has been in camp with the Tigers and certainly could still contribute this year.