TEMPE, Arizona – It was 80 degrees with a light breeze, an incredibly blue desert sky above while a crowd of fans shouted on the railing of the Tempe Diablo stadium, pens in hand, ready to engage in the one of the most timeless activities in baseball.
Yet at a time when Major League Baseball aimed to increase engagement, its most basic and perhaps most human act of player-fan interaction was under an invisible seat.
The autograph – an occasional annoyance to the player, an eternal memory for the fan – is an endangered species this spring due in large part to fears for the coronavirus, as the MLB joins other leagues and entities to respond to the spread of the disease.
On Saturday morning, as fans began entering and surrounding Los Angeles Angels spring house, the major league club was meeting with medical staff to learn the details of the MLB recommendations.
Later, a crowd of fans holding balls and notebooks and photos of their heroes assembled near the clubhouse was left mostly in need.
“It’s a real disappointment,” said Tim Mackley, a 48-year-old Angels fan who drove nearly 400 miles from Hawthorne, California, on his annual spring training pilgrimage. “But you understand.”
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For most of Saturday’s pre-game, Angels utility Taylor Ward was the only player to oblige, signing a wide variety of articles. He did not consciously keep his batting gloves when signing, but he was glad he did.
“They want us to make sure we are fully informed, and that they are constantly updated and have their own working group that they set up to really manage this thing and contain it as best as possible.” “They can do it for us, as athletes and professional players,” Ward said of the briefing on Saturday.
“I don’t want to be totally” No “to the fans, because that’s why we’re doing this. Obviously, we also want to be safe, but you just have to be smart about it.”
What is “smart” can certainly vary from one event to another, from one sport to another and from one site to another. Some NHL teams limit media access to a press conference, although it is not currently the policy of the league. The Philadelphia Phillies and Washington nationals have announced that they will prevent players from signing autographs and will instead distribute pre-signed items to fans.
Both teams train in Florida, where the Department of Health announced Friday that two patients have died from the coronavirus and two new cases have been reported in Broward County; another patient was released from a hospital in Sarasota.
“As a precaution for our players and fans, we are making adjustments to this experience (autograph signing) based on CDC recommendations,” the Phillies said in a statement. “Security staff will be available to assist players in distributing these pre-signed items before the start of our home games here in Clearwater.”
There are no such hard and fast edits among clubs training in the Cactus League in Arizona. Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after Friday’s club briefing that it was suggested that players handle their own pens when signing autographs.
“How can we handle this?” He asked. “I do not know yet.”
The Angels discussed the pre-signed autograph option, but sought common sense otherwise.
“We don’t want to make someone sick because we don’t want this place to be closed for 14 days,” said director Joe Maddon. “So you have to follow the rules.”
The fear of the coronavirus is only the last turning point of the autograph tango; the installation of safety nets obstructed many access points in the spring and in the regular season ball parks.
“Before, you had at least six or seven signatures a day. Now you’re here for six hours and you have no one, “said Frank LaMacchia, a 27-year-old New York native now living in Seattle and a grapefruit spring training veteran. “But I understand.
“Mike Trout, his pregnant wife right now, and you don’t want to risk anything.”
Indeed, the specter of the disease is enough to discourage players, not that they are looking for a protective bubble.
“I’m hesitant. I’m aware,” said Anthony Rendon, Angels’ third goal. “Of course, we’re less likely to go to the stands and sign a lot of autographs and be with a lot of people . The likelihood that we will get it is not high at all. But still, it’s in the back of your mind.
“I’m not going to put myself in a position to increase the odds. It’s annoying more than anything. “
And so the players went about their business and the signature peddled theirs, the routines continuing even if the two parties were aware that the interaction was less likely.
“You have to live your life, right? You should be able to do everything you normally do, ”says LaMacchia. “You take more precautions, I would say, but you have to live your life.”