Opening Day for the Los Angeles Dodgers was supposed to be this week at Dodger Stadium, but that obviously never came to be due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Like every other sport, the Major League Baseball season is currently on hold with no return date in sight. While the hope is that the country will be able to get coronavirus under control so that people can go back to living their daily lives, there’s no telling when that will happen.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently discussed the potential for the 2020 season being cancelled altogether, recognizing that there is a drop-dead date that the league has in mind.
The original plan was for players to continue working out at the Spring Training facility or Dodger Stadium for the time being, but Camelback Ranch was recently shut down, and gatherings are not permitted.
Players still need to continue to work out to prepare for the season though, and in an interview with Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the training staff is currently in the process of putting together home workouts for all of the players:
“We’re communicating with our players and trying to come up with remote workout plans, trying to keep guys connected. Our guys are highly motivated, so it’s not as much of a concern as it is just keeping everyone connected as much as we can. Brandon McDaniel and Travis Smith are kind of doing that through some of our workout plans the guys are doing in their respective houses.”
Staying in shape for a baseball season is a much different task compared to other athletes. Pitchers will need to continue throwing and positional players will need to take batting practice just about every day.
That makes this time where players do not have the ability to go to the stadium that much more difficult, although all other teams are in the same boat as well.
Whenever the season is ready to get starter, there likely will be some sort of Spring Training period for teams to ramp back up before Opening Day.
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