PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) - We all miss baseball and we all want it come back but when is the right time? Is the MLB proposal to open in Arizona in May the right call? Do players and coaches want to pack up and leave their families for 5 months and play in empty stadiums just to offer the country a live sporting event to watch?
Those have been the questions over the past few days and on Wednesday Pirates Manager Derek Shelton as a guest on the Cook and Joe Show had a chance to offer his takes
Shelton said the thought of the MLB proposal to open in Arizona in May at this point is just a thought.
"Everything is speculative and we all want to get back to playing games," Shelton said. "Until we really know what is going on It's hard to even say like we should do that or we shouldn't do that."
He points out the most important part is making sure of the safety for the players, his staff, the trainers and the clubhouse workers.
'We are all at the point where we want to play and get back on the field," Shelton added. "Once we get to that point then I'm gonna be really fired up."
He says the league can't be in a such a rush to get back that it causes harm to the players who might not be in the right body shape to play at game speed. It's something he says they are going to have to be extremely mindful of as they gear up to resume play and even how they handle lineups over the course of the season.
"We are really going to watch how our guys bodies react," Shelton said. "The most important thing is the conversations not only with myself and the staff but with the trainers and the players have to be completely open and willing to discuss…hey today is a day I'm dogging it a little bit and you may have to adjust."
So last week we asked Shelton how he was going to feel last Thursday (April ) at 1:35pm when he was supposed to be on the field for the Pirates home opener…and he said it would be an emotional day because he had been so looking forward to that day…and he said as predicted it was very emotional for him but he felt the need to be productive for it.
:We had a conference call with the staff. It was important to me that the staff was together at that time so we did a Zoom call, " Shelton added. "One of the things I told them was I wish I was standing with you guys on the line looking at a packed ballpark, looking at the Clemente Bridge but we are going to get to that point at some point but it was more of just an appreciation for everything they had done in spring training and to be together a bit."
His wait to manage his first game in the major leagues continues…
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