PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) - Pirates Shortstop Kevin Newman joined Dan Zangrilli from Arizona to discuss what life as a baseball player is like right now as players try to remain in shape to be ready for the season whenever it gets going.
"It's pretty hard not really knowing what we are training for, when we're training to start up," said Newman. "(We are) Just doing what we can to stay sharp and stay ready while adhering to the state and federal guidelines of 6-feet and minimal groups. We're just doing everything we can to really stay ready and get going as quickly as we can."
If the season does get going again this year, what is the minimum amount of time that a player would need to be ready to go at a 100 percent?
"That definitely varies, it depends on who you ask," said Newman. "Personally, to get ready and be comfortable and in full stride, I think 50 at-bats. But, if you ask me, What's the minimum that you need to get back out there and get playing as quickly as possible? I'd say probably a week's worth of games would be the minimum and then after it's just a matter of let's get things going."
There have been plenty of proposals made over the past couple weeks and Kevin says things have changed so much with the Coronavirus and how hard it is to predict where we will be in a week, two or three and he is just taking everything the players here with a grain of salt.
"I think now we are at the point that where so many things have changed so many times that we're kind of taking (everything) with a grain of salt," said Newman. "We're definitely trying to just get ready, work out everyday and see where it takes us. There is no point in making plans because it can change any second."
Kevin gets into what he is doing to pass the time and stay safe during the Coronavirus pandemic.