Fans in stands? If all goes well, Opening Day will be the day
For the first time since the 2019 season, Oracle Park and the Oakland Coliseum could host fans for major league baseball games.
Major league ballparks in California could open up to a limited number of fans by the time Opening Day rolls around in the first week of April, Gov. Gavin Newsom indicated in a news conference Wednesday in Long Beach.
“There’s not only a possibility, we’ve had advanced conversations,” Newsom said. “We’re working on the final details. We’ve been working very closely with Major League Baseball and others across the spectrum. Working with local health officers and we’ll be updating those guidelines.”
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, ballparks were shut down to fans for all of the shortened 2020 regular season.
This week, California dropped to a 2.2% positivity rate, Newsom said, with hospitalizations down 43% and down 42% in the ICUs over the past two weeks.
Even if the state and league fail to reach a deal, California’s existing guidelines could allow for fans at Bay Area ballgames.
In California’s tiered system, professional sports teams can allow up to 20 percent capacity in outdoor facilities if their respective county hits the orange tier.
San Francisco County, where Oracle Park sits, just reached the red tier and is on pace to hit the orange tier before the home opener on April 9 against the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park. Alameda County, where the Oakland Coliseum sits, is still in the purple tier but is expected to reach the red tier soon and could go orange before the A’s home opener on April 1 against the Houston Astros.
To get to the orange tier, a county needs to be below 4 cases per 100,000 (and have a positivity rate below 5%). Newsom made no guarantees, but was confident in the state’s direction.
“We’re stabilizing, we’re moving into the right tier,” Newsom said. “We have confidence that when you look forward to April, to Opening Day where we are likely to be if we all do our jobs, if we don’t let our guard down and spike the ball — wrong sport — but you get the point, then I have all the confidence in the world that fans will be back safely, in a lot of those outdoor venues.”
Orange tier guidelines for teams to host fans in outdoor facilities also require advanced reservations with assigned seating and no concourse sales. In-seat concessions, which means roving vendors, will be allowed.
If and when MLB teams in California get clearance, the A’s and Giants have released ticket voucher programs to let fans reserve seats in pods for regularseason games. Fans that purchase vouchers can buy individual tickets if and when Alameda and San Francisco counties reach the orange tier.
The Giants and A’s are currently playing in front of a limited number of fans in Cactus League games around Arizona.
BOONE NEEDS PACEMAKER >> New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone took a leave of absence from the team to get a pacemaker and intends to return to work in a few days.
The team said the procedure took place Wednesday at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Florida, and went as expected.
“It sounds like it’s going to be a short-term thing,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “I do applaud him for being very open and honest and sharing about the circumstances that he’s going through right now.”
Boone said in a statement the medical team is “confident that today’s surgery will allow me to resume all of my usual professional and personal activities and afford me a positive longterm health prognosis without having to change anything about my way of life. I look forward to getting back to work in the next several days.”
The 47-year-old is entering his fourth season as Yankees manager. He has led the club to a 236148 record.
“As many of you know, I underwent open-heart surgery in 2009, and I wanted everyone to understand where I’m at regarding the procedure that’s taking place today,” Boone said. “Over the last six to eight weeks I’ve had mild symptoms of lightheadedness, low energy and shortness of breath. As a result, I underwent a series of tests prior to the beginning of spring training. While the heart checkup came back normal, there were indications of a low heart rate which, after further consultations with doctors in Tampa, necessitates a pacemaker.”
LESTER TO HAVE THYROID GLAND REMOVED >> Washington Nationals left-hander Jon Lester is leaving spring training camp to have surgery for the removal of his thyroid gland, manager Dave Martinez said.
The 37-year-old Lester was to travel from West Palm Beach, Florida, to New York on Wednesday; the Nationals said the operation is planned for Friday.
“Hopefully he can pitch again in about a week,” Martinez said in a video conference with reporters. “We want him to get it taken care of now, so it’s not an issue.”
In 2006, Lester’s rookie season with the Boston Red Sox ended early because he was diagnosed with a form of lymphoma.