KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After months of questions, negotiations and uncertainty, the Kansas City Royals were back on the field Friday at Kauffman Stadium for their first day of Summer Camp 2.0.
The crack of the bat could be heard once again at "The K." New Royals owner John Sherman cautiously looked over his shoulder during batting practice, just to make sure a foul ball didn’t come his way while sitting with 41 Action News anchor Kevin Holmes for a one-on-one interview.
Those looks were nothing compared to the times he has cautiously looked over Major League Baseball’s plan to restart the 2020 season.
Holmes asked Sherman, “We’re on day one of practice out here. You see all the players on the field. What goes on in your mind this inaugural year as owner? How does this feel for you, brother?”
Sherman responded, “I think about how we shut things down back on March 12. That was a surreal experience.”
COVID-19 was a mean curveball no one could have predicted. Sherman reflected on the moment baseball stopped.
“I had just got off an owners call with the commissioner, looking down on our stadium in Surprise," Sherman said. "Fans were coming in the front gate. Our groundskeepers were rolling the tarps back. The vendors were putting out and I knew we were going to shut this thing down before the game started.”
Instead of worrying about pitch counts, Sherman and owners across the league worried about case counts — followed by weeks of back-and-forth between the players and owners. Now, finally, there’s a revenue-sharing plan and safety plan amid this pandemic to which both sides agreed.
“This is an emotional day," Sherman said while watching practice. "In fact, coming out here, walking down the concourse, seeing the boys in blue out on the field —it’s been a long time coming.”
The new Royals owner talked about some of the safety measures put in place to protect both players and Royals staff. He believes it's possible to resume the MLB season safely.
“You know, I think it is. If you saw the discipline and the protocols we have in place," Sherman said. "Everybody that walks in. You probably went through a screening and a temperature check today. Everyone does that. We wear masks in public areas."
There are roughly 320 employees (not counting players, coaches, trainers and those with everyday clubhouse access) with the Royals. Sherman said the reintegration plan is slow. Only a skeleton crew is back at Kauffman Stadium. They’re all separated by tiers:
- Tier 1 – Players, coaches, trainers: everyone who is in the clubhouse on a consistent basis.
- Tier 2 – Baseball operations: people who may need to go to the lower level, but not on a consistent basis.
- Tier 3 – Media, visitors: others who will generally stay upstairs in the stands and concourse areas.
Sherman said the Royals have tested players and staff and have contact tracers if needed.
It’s worth noting that Royals manager Mike Matheny has recovered from coronavirus. A day after Holmes' interview with Sherman, Royals catcher Salvador Perez confirmed that he, too, had tested positive. Four days later, pitcher Brad Keller and first baseman Ryan O’Hearn — who were both at practice on Friday — also tested positive.
“We have to be very disciplined in the way we navigate and execute. One guy can screw it up for a lot of us,” Sherman said.
Like many industries, MLB got hit hard in the pockets. Teams get about 60% of their revenue locally, with the other roughly 40% coming from national revenue sharing, such as media deals.
“We definitely got hit hard financially when everything shut down, particularly at the point we were beginning our season," Sherman said. "But at the end of the day, baseball’s not going anywhere. We know what we need to do to kind of beat this. It’s just a question of execution."
Nine men on the field giving their all for nine innings. The man who’s owned the team for roughly nine months said he’s swinging for the fences to put a winning product on the field and to keep everyone in the Royals organization “Safe At Home.”
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