Royals close camp ahead of MLB announcing spring training camps are suspended
Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore used the term “very eerie” to describe the atmosphere at the club’s spring training facility Thursday when the club canceled its spring training game and the baseball world largely came to a standstill.
In the matter of hours the most vibrant and bustling time of the year for Major League Baseball organizations turned into a shadow of itself. It’s an eerie feeling watching a lively sport slowly turn into a ghost.
“As we were watching fans enter the gates and vendors set up their booths to sell hot dogs and popcorn and merchandise, you couldn’t help but feel a sense of hurt for them,” Moore said.
Moore said Friday the Royals would shut down their major-league and minor-league spring camps for “a couple days.” Then MLB announced later in the day that spring training camps would be suspended immediately: players can return home, return to their major-league city or remain in their spring training city.
“We feel for the city of Surprise and the Cactus League and the folks that depend on spring training every year economically and for their own personal enjoyment,” Moore said. “I mean we want to play baseball, of course we do. Baseball has always had a special place in the lives of our country and in the families and the people that love our game.”
Thursday, MLB’s commissioner Rob Manfred announced its decision to suspend spring training and delay the start of the season, originally slated to open on March 26, by at least two weeks because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Friday, the Royals held a team meeting and officials from MLB, the commissioner’s office and the Major League Baseball Players Association will continue discussions into the weekend to determine the next steps.
“Our players are doing very well mentally. They’re doing very well physically,” Moore said. “They understand that they have a moral responsibility, if you will, to do what’s right for our community, the community of Surprise, and, obviously, Kansas City and represent baseball well.”
Moore said there was no complaining nor any uneasiness from players at the meeting on Friday.
“The one thing I know about professional athletes and baseball players, they adapt really well,” Moore said. “You never want to miss time. These guys have pinpointed opening day once the season concluded in 2019, but they’ll adjust. For some of our players, a little extra time will be good for them physically and mentally.”
As of Friday morning, Moore said no players or staff had been tested for coronavirus and they’d had no issues at their facility. Under the direction of MLB, the Royals made the decision to close their facility to fans, media, family members and friends starting Friday.
The Royals were supposed to hold their annual minor league awards ceremony on Friday afternoon, and they’d had a night game scheduled against the team they share a training complex with, the Texas Rangers.
Moore said he and the baseball operations staff including assistant general managers Rene Francisco, J.J. Picollo and Scott Sharp were still “working through” what to do as far as the minor league players, most of whom began camp on Monday.
The scouting staff is also in a wait and see mode while most of the country has paused spring sports at the amateur levels.
“There’s no games to be played right now, so our amateur scouts are in a holding pattern at this point,” Moore said. “... If there’s games being played somewhere, we will be smart about how we operate. Whether we stay off airplanes or how we get to those games. We got so many have contacts in each and every community. If players are performing, we’ll have somebody in the ballpark. Right now, there’s just not a lot of games being played.”
The Royals academy in the Dominican Republic remained in operation and there are players there, according to Moore.
When asked Friday morning about how long it may take to get players ready to start the season once MLB lifted the suspension, Royals manager Mike Matheny said, “I know the guys are going to continue to work no matter what. They feel great right now. Obviously, in contrast to everything else that’s going on, they just keep doing what they do. They’re going to continue to work and be ready for whatever the next step is.”
It still wasn’t clear Friday morning how MLB would adjust its schedule or how roster decisions would be affected by the delay.
Friday afternoon, reports indicated that after an agreement between MLB and the union, players had started to be sent home.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 3:14 PM.
