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Unlike the big leagues, which is further delayed while owners and players are embroiled in a frustrating negotiation over finances, a common belief is the minor league season won’t happen in 2020.
But that’s not stopping a Phillies affiliate — the Reading Fightin Phils — from finding ways to interact with their fans in person. Their annual Father’s Day catch, which traditionally coincides with a Double-A baseball game, will still go on this Sunday.
“What we’re trying to do with our extra events in Reading at FirstEnergy Stadium: give people as much of normalcy as possible,” said Scott Hunsicker, Fightin general manager.
On Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., fans will have the opportunity to go to the stadium, have catch with their family on the field, play whiffle ball, and enjoy food, drink and music.
The $5 admission ticket will benefit Baseballtown Charities, which teaches baseball and softball, along with life lessons, to young boys and girls. Originally, there was only supposed to be one session on Sunday, but the popularity forced the R-Phils to add the second timeframe later in the afternoon.
The Father’s Day catch is an event that’s been going on at Reading games since the mid-’80s.
“There is something magical,” said Hunsicker.
Of course, this event is different from previous ones, as CDC guidelines must be followed.
“The easiest thing is we have space,” Hunsicker said. “We’re a big stadium. We got 3 acres of grass. We have this beautiful Tompkins VIST Bank Plaza — this huge plaza with a stage. And so the easiest thing for us was following the 12 people per 1,000 square feet. We got plenty of 1,000-square-feet areas. We just spread everything out.”
There’s a picnic area, too, and tables on the field. The dugouts will be cleaned. Hunsicker said the bathrooms are getting cleaned even more than they were before. People are asked to wear masks when not in their seated area, and to bring their own equipment — bats, balls, gloves.
Hunsicker said the R-Phils organization is in good shape despite the pandemic, as none of the 24 people on their staff have been furloughed or laid off. They’re thankful for that, and they’ve been using their time to be “able to find sort of silver lining” with the community work the organization has been doing.
He was also happy to hear that The MLB Players Trust, described as “the charitable arm of MLBPA,” recently committed $1 million to assist minor leaguers, who most likely won’t be able to play this season.
“It didn’t surprise me because I know how much the major league players care about their minor league brethren,” Hunsicker said. “I know whenever someone comes down on a rehab assignment, they buy the big steak dinner in the clubhouse for all the minor league guys, which has been going on for all 30 years that I’ve been here. I’ve seen Jimmy Rollins do it, John Kruk do it, Pat Burrell do it — they all did it. Ryan Howard, they all did it, and I’m sure that they’ll always continue to do that.
“Even just having seen that over the years, I’m sure the major league players have a soft spot in their heart for the minor league guys,” he continued. “Look, it’s tough. The minor league guys to not play a whole year — and I know the Phillies have done a great job of compensating their minor league players through as much of this as humanly possible. We’re just excited to have them back in 2021.
“We feel like we’ll be able to have the best 2021 we could’ve ever had because we’ve had essentially 18 months to prepare for it, in that we won’t have a game for 18 months.”
Until then, the Fightin Phils can look ahead to Sunday’s catch in the ballpark.
“Our role coming out of this will be to provide affordable family entertainment, give people a release, and that’s what we’ll concentrate on,” said Hunsicker.