Here are some news and notes ... some of you may choose to not believe what’s written but I assure you it’s not conjecture 😎.
Spring Training will officially open on 2/17 with Pitchers and Catchers workouts. There will be no ... zero ... none allowance for fans to attend. For that matter media members are also being excluded from attendance until 2/22 when the first full squad workouts will take place. Players are expected to report three days in advance to go thru health and safety protocols which will include a Covid test and quarantine period before they are allowed into the Complex and Stadium. They will continue to be tested each week that camp continues.
Media access to players and coaches will be limited to zoom conferences along with pre arranged socially distanced meetings with the Manager and a selected player. No other face to face interviews will be allowed other than the two pre arranged slots. It’s likely that most of the local Philly media will not be traveling to Clearwater this spring but rather will cover the team remotely.
All TV broadcasts of ST games are expected to be done remotely.
Autographs are prohibited as part of the health and safety protocols.
The agreed upon health and safety protocols for the regular season include adopting seven inning double headers for makeups of postponements and placing a runner at second base to start any extra inning. Both rules are deemed necessary to keep games shorter in length and exposure limited during the pandemic.
The DH is still being considered but as an economic reason rather than as a health and safety issue. Hopefully it’s brought to a conclusion soon so that teams can prepare accordingly.
The number of Grapefruit League games will be reduced and the schedules altered so that teams will be less exposed to travel. The teams will play in “pods” with teams that train in close proximity. The Phillies will play the Yankees, Jays, Tigers and Pirates. Pod Two is a grouping of the Braves, Rays, Orioles, Twins and Red Sox while Pod Three is the Astros, Nationals, Marlins, Mets and Cardinals.
The revised Grapefruit League schedule for the Phillies will have 14 home games and 14 road games. They will also play at least four intra squad games. Ticket sales and when the revised schedule will be released is TBD.
Camp limits have been set on the number of players allowed as well as support personnel as part of the health and safety protocols. I believe it’s 75 slots for each. The NRI list for the Phillies should be released soon.
That’s all I know ... for now. Choose to believe it or not ... your prerogative.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
