D-Backs to get their first taste of the road
The Diamondbacks flew to Los Angeles on Sunday, their first time on the road in the COVID-19 era, and in doing so they entered uncharted waters. With flights, hotels and stadiums all looking and feeling different, the Diamondbacks will try to get comfortable and remain healthy despite the changes.
But with the potential there for a positive test on the road, Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen said he and the rest of the NL and AL West division GMs/baseball operations leaders have formulated plans for how to proceed.
“Every team is going to have a home action plan for the road team,” Hazen said.
The GMs, who met on a conference call organized earlier this month by the Texas Rangers’ Jon Daniels, reached a consensus that the home team would take responsibility for contingency plans.
“I think we’re all walking off a plank a little bit into the unknown,” Hazen said. “What’s it going to be like? Our biggest fear is being on the road and somebody tests positive. What are they going to do? They can’t be on any team transportation at that point. We don’t want to be in position of leaving them behind, but you’re going to have to. We’ve got to figure out a way to get them home safely.”
Hazen said every team has mapped out details for such a situation that the visiting team can follow.
“What’s the medical care?” Hazen said. “What facilities can we use? Who are the doctors we will get ahold of? What’s the travel situation out of here? It’s those types of concepts.”
Hazen said if a player or staffer is asymptomatic and is in a city within driving distance of Phoenix, finding a rental car for the player would be easy enough. Elsewhere, teams wouldn’t put players on flights until doctors clear them to fly, Hazen said.
“We’re committing to being responsible for making sure that if something happens on the road, the road team is not left to their own devices,” Hazen said.
While players and staff have fallen into routines at home when it comes to everything from how to get into the ballpark, how and where to take meals and when to wear masks, they will be entering new environments on the road – and introducing new variables, like interaction with non-baseball personnel on flights, in hotels and on buses.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said he told his players that many of the things they have come to expect about being on the road are going to change. On planes, for example, players will be spaced out and in assigned seats and should not move about the cabin to socialize, Lovullo said.
“Typically, there is a little bit of camaraderie and lounging about on the planes,” he said. “I’ve made it very clear that I’m expecting guys to remain in their seats and understand it’s getting us from Point A to Point B.”
Right-hander Merrill Kelly said players were told Friday to expect the setup in certain road clubhouses to be different than usual. At Dodger Stadium, where they were scheduled to play exhibitions on Sunday and Monday nights, the visitors’ clubhouse is narrow and tight, and this season it likely will not be used to house the entire team.
“It could be in a hallway; it could be in an auxiliary room,” Kelly said. “I don’t think anyone really knows the answer to that question yet.”