OAKLAND, Calif. — During a time when Major League Baseball players and coaches should be gearing up for the Mid-Summer Classic, instead the early-season routines of Spring Training are getting underway — for a second time.
But, hey, at least there will be professional baseball this summer, shortened or not. That’s the mindset of the Oakland Athletics’ pitching coach Scott Emerson, who makes his offseason home in Rockingham.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put the MLB’s season four months behind schedule, but Emerson and players and coaches from all 30 ball clubs are now in the midst of a modified pre-season schedule with Opening Day less than 10 days away.
Since the owners unanimously voted to reinstate the season starting July 1, Oakland has spent the last two weeks undergoing its “second Spring Training,” practicing and playing intersquad games at the Oakland Coliseum instead of in Mesa, Ariz.
Originally drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 21st round of the 1990 draft, a former minor league pitcher and a part of the A’s organization since 2003, Emerson was named Oakland’s pitching coach in June 2017.
Having been around the professional level for the last three decades, this experience is unlike anything Emerson has ever seen.
“Everything we’re doing right now is obviously really different than how things normally are,” Emerson said. “But I’m glad that we’re getting the chance to play, it’s great to have baseball back and this season is going to be exciting, tough and really unpredictable.
“The competition is going to be great because everyone is in the race in July,” he added. “It’ll be a 60-game sprint, and some teams who may not have been good could get off to a hot start and win. And the same with a team that could have been an easy playoff team, it could have a bad stretch and be out of the playoffs.”
Camp not only feels different in the mid-July sun, but the MLB has a different look, too. Emerson explained that masks are optional to players when working out, but coaches, unless throwing batting practice, hitting fungos or meeting with players, are required to wear one.
Workouts are no longer done in the masses, and instead, Emerson noted, groups of five or six players and coaches can be seen strewn out across the ballpark. From his end, he likes it because he sees his pitchers in phases, starting with non-game pitchers first, followed by starters.
“When we’re in smaller groups, it benefits me a little more because I’m able to touch the pitchers a little easier,” Emerson said.
Safety procedures and COVID-19 protocols are also in place around the park, something Emerson said he and his fellow Major Leaguers have acclimated themselves to quickly.
As part of ensuring the containment of the coronavirus, all team members are tested via a spit test every other day, and results have about a 36-hour turnaround.
Another step in what has now become the “new normal” of baseball is players having their temperatures taken when they wake up, as well as taken twice by EMTs upon arrival at the Coliseum. Players once enjoyed buffet-style lunches, but now get to-go containers to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
And of course there are the masks — the hot topic that players, fans and the general public seem to go back and forth about.
Scott Emerson wears a mask and gloves during a practice earlier this month at Oakland Coliseum.
“Wearing a mask is a little chaotic, but whether right or wrong, wearing one is a good courtesy to all people,” Emerson shared. “Compassion needs to start spreading in this world, and I think ‘what’s the big deal if someone else has to wear a mask if that means sharing compassion.’
“If you’re not around people it doesn’t spread as fast, so we need to be responsible to help others when we are (close by),” he continued. “The MLB is doing everything it can do and think of to keep people safe.”
Professional baseball has had a couple instances the last 30 years that saw play suspended, namely the 1994 player’s strike and the immediate weeks following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. While the coronavirus pandemic is causing changes to the sport, Emerson says common sense can help alleviate some of the fears.
“After 9/11, guys didn’t stop working out and they found a way to do things to stay active,” Emerson said. “That was a tragedy that didn’t have to happen and it shocked our country.
“The pandemic is a serious issue, and this virus is so unpredictable,” he continued. “At some point in time, we have to move on and that’s what’s going on in baseball. We’ll continue to practice social distancing, listen to the doctors, wear a mask and suck up our pride so we can play.”
The A’s currently have 20 pitchers on staff at camp, and Emerson’s goal as the pitching coach between now and Opening Day is to ensure that each of them closes the gap between where they were in March and where they are now.
He noted that some pitchers have simulated one start a week, as opposed to one every five days like during the regular season. That leads to pitchers getting out of their groove, and poses the possibility of losing endurance.
“The biggest adjustment has been for the guys to get their stuff back, whether that’s their velocity or their late breaking ball,” Emerson explained. “It’s tougher on starters who have to condition for 100 pitches, while relievers need to get things back for 35 pitches.
“But these guys are competitive, especially when it’s them against their teammates. They’re battling to be the king of the club house.”
The A’s went 97-65 last year, taking second place in the American League West Division and earned a Wild Card spot against the Tampa Bay Rays. Although Oakland lost that game, Emerson says the team is ready to get back to the postseason even during a shortened season.
Back on rotation is Sean Manaea (Wild Card starter), who Emersonn called the “ultimate competitor.” Joining him will be Frankie Montas and his “electric stuff,” Mike Fiers who serves as one of the team’s veteran arms, “swing man” Chris Bassitt, as well as prospects A.J. Puk and Jesus Lazardo, both of whom Emerson said will look to make a name for himself this summer.
There’s also a lot of depth on the back end with the relievers, as All-Star closer Liam Hendricks and journeymen Joakim Soria and Yusmeiro Petit anchor an impressive staff balanced with young talent and vertern leadership.
Oakland will play two Spring Training games against the San Francisco Giants on July 20 and 21, and Emerson expects his guys to be ready. Although the ballpark will be without fans, he hopes to see the team’s intensity rise.
“I think it will be great to have baseball back, and hopefully it will be very popular on TV this summer,” he said. “Not having fans in the stands will be different, but I know we’re so competitive that it won’t cause any major issues.”
The A’s will open their season Friday, July 24, at home against AL West opponent Los Angeles.
