Giants thrilled to play in front of fans

Team to welcome crowds to spring site

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. >> With no fans at ballparks and no team personnel stationed along the side of the playing field to collect foul balls, COVID-19 protocols forced Giants left fielder Alex Dickerson to log a lot of extra steps during the 2020 season.

He also made a lot more maximum-effort throws.

Whenever a foul ball rolled into the left field corner at Oracle Park, Dickerson had to leave his position and chase it down. He developed a peculiar habit of picking the loose baseballs up and firing them at cardboard cut-outs, often striking fans directly in their digitalized faces.

Old habits die hard, but Dickerson knows he’ll have to be far more cautious this year. The Giants are welcoming 750-1,000 fans at each of their home spring training games, beginning Sunday when they host the Angels at Scottsdale Stadium.

“Hopefully I don’t instinctually throw it in there and there’s people there,” Dickerson joked. “Might have to work that out of my system.”

The prospect of having a limited number of socially distanced pods of fans at a stadium that typically seats 12,000 may not sound significant, but Giants players are thrilled. After playing all 60 games during the 2020 regular season at empty stadiums, Sunday’s Cactus League opener will look, sound and feel different.

Even with stadiums opening at limited capacity, this spring training won’t include any of the fanto-player interactions that often make the experience of attending a game so special for young fans.

The Giants haven’t received word from state officials in California or local officials in San Francisco as to whether they’ll be permitted to sell tickets at Oracle Park when the team plays its home opener on April 9, but the organization has laid the groundwork to safely welcome fans back during the 2021 season.

When the ballpark at China Basin does open, seats will be sold in pods, fans will fill out health screenings prior to entry and be required to wear masks, but even with all of the changes and restrictions, players can’t wait to hear the roar of the crowd.

“It almost makes you a little nervous after a year of not having it at all,” Dickerson said. “Getting used to playing in front of fans and the noises and everything, even the small crowd will make it feel a little more like home and I’m excited for it. Hopefully as the year goes along, we can move toward a bigger stadium filled with people again because it was very different.”