Seven ways Royals baseball will look different on Opening Day and in the 2020 season
Whether Royals fans tune in for Friday night’s 2020 season opener against the Indians in Cleveland or wait until next week’s home opener, some differences will be apparent.
That’s not including the stands, which won’t have live fans.
Here are seven ways the games will appear different than what fans are accustomed to seeing.
1 . Advertising
Major League Baseball gave teams approval to paint advertising on the grass in foul territory on the first- and third-base lines, but only for the 2020 season, the Royals said.
For games at Kauffman Stadium, fans will see the names of Price Chopper and Evergy.
Virtual advertising will be seen on the batter’s eye, on the pitcher’s mound and on virtual tarps in parts of the stadium.
As fans saw in this week’s exhibition games, it’s a work in progress:
Jason Booker, the Royals Senior Director of Corporate Partnerships, said these are shared assets with Fox Sports Kansas City.
“We’re hopeful that some of these will be available down the road,” Booker said.
The Royals also will have actual tarps behind the dugouts that extend up about six rows. They will have the names of Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Evergy.
It’s not just the Royals. Here is Progressive Field in Cleveland:
2. Personal items
Keep an eye on a pitcher who exits the mound. He will pick up his very own rosin bag or go back and get it. Because of COVID-19 regulations, every pitcher must have his own rosin bag.
“You’ll see them all walk off after the third out and then it’s like ‘oh yeah...’. There’s a little bit of awkwardness to it still,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said.
“I think they’re trying to get where each individual hitter has their own batting weight and their own stick or spray for the bat. I think those are supposed to be for personal use only.”
Pitchers also will have a wet rag in their pocket since they aren’t allowed to lick their fingers.
Along the lines of player safety, there is no spitting (including tobacco or sunflower seeds) and social distancing must be adhered to, even when talking to umpires.
3. Special patches
For Friday’s game, players may wear a patch with “Black Lives Matter” or “United For Change” on a jersey sleeve, the Associated Press reported. Teams can add an inverted MLB logo with “BLM” or “United for Change” on the back of the pitcher’s mound during opening weekend games as well.
Here’s a look at the patches:
4. Watching on TV
Television and radio announcers around Major League Baseball won’t travel to road games. Fox Sports Kansas City’s Ryan Lefebvre and Rex Hudler will be watching Friday’s game from Kauffman Stadium, where they will get a TV feed from the opposing team and an All-Nine Shot of the field.
Also watching from home: official scorers. If there is a play that could be ruled a hit or error in your mind, don’t expect a decision to be known quickly.
5. Buck O’Neil will be there
Well, a plastic cutout of O’Neil will be at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals will install more than 700 “fanbassadors” in the seats, many behind home plate.
These are hard-plastic cutouts in the image of Royals’ season-ticket holders that will fill some of those empty seats.
The Royals said also they will have O’Neil’s image in the stands.
6. Foul balls
The stands won’t be completely void of human beings. At Kauffman Stadium, the Royals’ memorabilia authenticators will be on the hunt for foul balls that land in the stands.
They will authenticate the baseballs and take them to the Royals Authentics store where they’ll be sold as game used.
7. Who’s on second?
Royals pitchers may not like it, but Major League Baseball is hoping to avoid prolonged extra-inning games.
Starting in extra innings a runner will begin each half inning on second base. That runner will be the person in the lineup one spot ahead of the leadoff hitter for the inning (or a pinch runner).
Last year, the Twins and Red Sox played a 17-inning game that lasted 5 hours, 45 minutes. That might not happen this season.
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 11:13 AM.
