BOOTH TRANSFORMATION

Calling away games from Petco will be new endeavor for Orsillo and Grant

Cooped up in his home in Alpine, Padres television analyst Mark Grant discovered a way to escape … to Eastern Europe … to the shores of the Adriatic Sea … to farflung places in a locked-down world.

When the coronavirus pandemic forced baseball to hammer the pause button, Grant downloaded an app to play chess with people all over the planet. He watched videos of reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen, a 29-year-old Norwegian prodigy.

Then he braced for the beatings.

“I was always intrigued by chess,” Grant said. “I’m a novice at this, but the strategy, the movement of the pieces, how you set up certain situations is really interesting to me. Carlsen is like the modern-day Bobby Fischer, so I watch his matches and try to follow along with what he’s doing.

“I played a guy from Romania the other day. Then I played a guy from Italy. I got smoked. He put me away in like 15 moves. It was really embarrassing. But I want to get better at it. It’s a really cool game.”

Starting Monday, Grant finally can mix in some curveballs and change-ups with the blizzard of checkmates. He will join Don Orsillo in a very different booth under markedly different circumstances to call an exhibition game against the Angels on Fox Sports San Diego.

The duo will work from their normal broadcast location at Petco Park for games home and away. They will be more isolated. They will be more distanced. They will receive temperature checks each time they enter. Their words will sometimes ring through a park devoid of fans.

But baseball, in a dizzying 60-game sprint, will be back.

“People say it’s only 60 games,” Grant said. “You know what? There’s the 400 meters and the 10,000 meters. The 10,000-meters guy doesn’t look at the 400-meter guy and say, ‘You only ran 400 meters. You don’t deserve a gold medal.’ In figure skating, there’s a long and short program.

“Well, the event this year is the 60-game schedule.”

The Padres’ opener, 120 days tardy, will arrive Friday with a 6:10 p.m. start against the Diamondbacks at Petco Park.

Grant and the television ecosystem in which he operates

“The 10,000-meters guy doesn’t look at the 400-meter guy and say, ‘You only ran 400 meters. You don’t deserve a gold medal.’ ” Mark Grant • Padres announcer on shortened season

will be reshaped and reimagined to accommodate for COVID-19 concerns. He and Orsillo will turn their backs to the field during away games to follow a complex web of monitors with a feed from opposing parks. Broadcast information, once delivered in person, will be passed along electronically to limit exposure.

The differences will range from subtle to substantial.

“If they’re talking about Manny Machado, they’re used to our director finding Machado and having him on the screen immediately,” said Ed Barnes, coordinating producer for FSSD. “They know they might not get that (on the road) and they’re prepared to deal with it. That’s the kind of flexibility we’re talking about.”

The stories about a foul ball landing in a plate of nachos or couples wearing opposing jerseys will vanish from broadcasts unfolding without fans. The short season will provide the atmosphere of a playoff push from the first pitch, meaning more focus on the nuts and bolts of games.

Spinning yarns in the dog days of summer becomes less necessary as listeners find themselves in the mix from the jump. Stories mined from hanging out with players and the manager in the clubhouse or along dugout steps are more likely to be shelved for a season, too.

Learning to navigate a strange broadcasting environment involves the subconscious, as well.

“There have been some habits I didn’t even realize I had,” Orsillo said. “I had no idea that for the last 20 years of doing big-league TV, right before the pitch, I glanced at the center fielder or right fielder to see where they were cheating on a pitch.

“For example, Hunter Renfroe knew where the pitch will be so he can get a start on it. If they’re working a guy outside, he’s already moving toward the line. Now, I look up and there’s nothing there but a wall (of monitors they might not control).”

Awareness blossomed from the unique exercise as Orsillo and

KEVIN ACEE U-T Don Orsillo (left) and Mark Grant will call all Padres telecasts this season, home and away, from their booth at Petco Park.