The Los Angeles Dodgers held their first full-squad workout of 2020 Spring Training on Tuesday, but the conversations at Camelback Ranch and around baseball continue to involve the Houston Astros in some regard.
Players are not only angered by the Astros’ sign stealing that occurred during their 2017 World Series season and 2018 as well, but also some of their responses and comments from Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred.
Cody Bellinger voiced his frustration with the punishment levied by Manfred, and Justin Turner was critical of the commissioner’s lax view of the World Series trophy.
Beyond Dodgers players, the likes of Kris Bryant, Yu Darvish, Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge and Mike Trout are among others who have also weighed in. The wide scope of opinions is something Clayton Kershaw is pleased by, but he again stressed moving forward, via Dodger Insider:
“The one thing I will say is that I think everybody is handling it the way they want to, and I think that’s great. There’s a lot of guys that have said their piece, a lot of big-name guys. We heard from Mike Trout yesterday. To hear you lost respect from the best player in the game, that hurts. I think the message is getting sent loud and clear that this is unprecedented.
“This type of thing has never happened before, and people are upset by it. People feel cheated, and rightfully so. The only thing I will say now is we have a great season coming up. Everybody’s really excited about baseball. Baseball’s in a great spot. We’ve got a lot of incredible players. I love baseball.
“I’m excited about it, and I’m just thinking about the 12-year-old kid at home that, here’s all this stuff. It’s hard to decipher. It’s just a lot of negative and negative and negative, and rightfully so. It’s a lot of stuff that’s going on that shouldn’t have happened, but at the same time, the season’s going to happen. We’re excited about it. This team is excited. There’s going to be a lot of great baseball and I’m fired up for that.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts touched on the ongoing crisis during his first meeting with the full team, and president and CEO Stan Kasten also addressed it with players. However, the prevailing theme remains for the Dodgers to keep their focus on the field and 2020 season.
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