For once, the fans are not going wild. At least, not in the stands at The Coliseum.
The Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants opened the Bay Bridge series Monday night as a precursor to the coronavirus-shortened season, which starts later this week.
There are A’s heroes like Baseball Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers in the stands. There are also stuffed animals and even a few babies that make up row after row of fake A’s fans made out of cardboard to fill the seats.
"Fans can go and upload a picture of themselves and you actually make a cardboard cutout of yourself to sit in the stadium because we can’t have fans," A’s Team President Dave Kaval said.
Kaval told KCBS Radio it’s all part of bringing a little bit of normalcy and fun to this strange, abbreviated season. I can tell you from behind those cutouts, it also brings a little bit of science fiction to the whole affair.
The team itself, however, is dealing with it in their own way.
"I think it’s very different," Kaval explained. "Obviously, our fans are one of our great competitive advantages because they’re so passionate and knowledgeable. We miss them and not having them at the ballpark. But I think the players are focused on winning this year and competing."
Kaval is particularly excited about infielders Matt Chapman and Matt Olson, along with starting pitcher Sean Menaea.
"We’re very hopeful that we can have a very competitive season and I think that’s the number one focus," Kaval added.
When you watch a game on TV, the experience will have even more special effects - if you will - like the sounds of screaming fans recorded right here at The Coliseum in very different times. That is, when fans streamed in from around the Bay Area to enjoy a baseball game.
The world first encountered the idea for cardboard fans when South Korea’s KBO League returned following that country’s battle with the coronavirus.
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