by Rowan Kavner
The Dodgers played seven innings of a Spring Training game on March 11, 2020. Their next game wouldn’t come until more than four months later.
When the Dodgers went to Spring Training last year, nothing seemed amiss or unusual. Excitement and anticipation built early in camp after adding Mookie Betts to a roster than won a franchise-record 106 games the year prior. The focus was on the new addition, not the contagious virus set to impact the world for the next year. No one could’ve predicted what was to come.
Discussions about a coronavirus started to swirl in early March, when teams began to take precautions with hand-washing and limiting interactions with fans. But even then, the idea of the season shutting down seemed far-fetched. That all changed on March 11, when the Utah Jazz game against the Oklahoma City Thunder was suspended before tip-off after a positive COVID-19 test.
“I just remember watching the basketball game, I forget who was playing, and them running off the court,” said Clayton Kershaw. “I think we ended up coming in the next day to practice, and it was kind of like, ‘OK, that’s it, everybody go home.’ I don’t think I really understood, like a lot of people, what was going on or what was going to go on.”
On March 12, Major League Baseball reacted to what took place in the NBA one night prior by announcing that Spring Training was canceled and the regular season would be delayed by at least two weeks. A day later, MLB announced Spring Training camps were suspended, effective immediately. Players were free to return to their homes.
“I think going home we knew it wasn’t going to be just a couple weeks,” Kershaw said.
Chris Taylor said it was a shock for everyone. No one knew how seriously they needed to take it at the time. Manager Dave Roberts said he still hoped the stoppage would be short and temporary.
“To look back a year and still kind of going through things and getting adjusted certainly is not something we anticipated, and it was just an abrupt stop at that point in time,” Roberts said. “You’re kind of wondering when and if you’re going to go back.”
Some players went home. Others decided to stay in Arizona to see how things would play out, wanting to stay as ready as possible if the season suddenly resumed. That was easy for Tony Gonsolin, who lived in Arizona at the time. Matt Beaty was also among the Dodgers who stuck around to get work at the field.
“There were a lot of rumors floating around about when we were going to play,” said Beaty, who added that he never could’ve imagined the months ahead. “We just wanted to be ready.”
It quickly became clear just how serious the virus was. Many players were impacted by it in some form or fashion, whether they got COVID-19 themselves or had family members or friends who were affected. Weeks turned into months. By June, back-and-forth discussions were taking place between MLB and the Players’ Union to try to get a framework for a return to play.
On June 23, MLB announced its plans for a 60-game regular season beginning in late July with a season featuring a number of changes. Opponents and schedules would change to keep teams closer to home and mitigate travel. The designated hitter would be implemented in both leagues. A number of health and safety procedures would be implemented, and each club had to submit a written COVID-19 Action Plan for approval by MLB. Non-playing personnel would wear masks in the dugout and bullpen.
Players began receiving COVID-19 tests and temperature checks from the moment they arrived back with their teams in early July for Summer Camp, which was essentially Spring Training 2.0.
And of course, there were no fans. In the Dodgers’ case, only cardboard cutouts filled the stands at Dodger Stadium throughout a championship season before the club moved to the Texas bubble for the postseason, where a limited capacity of fans watched them win their World Series title. As strange as it was to play without fans, Roberts said he tried not to talk about it often and the Dodgers did as good a job as they could have given the circumstances with cutouts and piped-in fan noise.
A year later, the world is still dealing with the virus. But hope is on the horizon. The Dodgers are back at Spring Training playing in front of a limited number of fans at Camelback Ranch. As long as COVID-19 numbers continue to decline, the same will be the case at Dodger Stadium in 2021.
“It was definitely a shell-shock,” Corey Seager said of the last year. “But we’re here now, and hopefully we don’t have to do that again.”