Clippings Monday, June 29, 2020 Braves.com

Braves set player pool; 4 spots remain

By Mark Bowman

ATLANTA -- Less than three weeks after being drafted, was placed in the 60-man player pool the Braves submitted to Major League on Sunday afternoon.

Shuster is not expected to make his MLB debut this year. But his inclusion on this list creates the opportunity for him to spend the next couple of months working out with some of the top members of the Braves’ development staff.

First and foremost, these 60-man player pools were designed for teams to designate which members of their organization will be eligible for the 60-game regular season, which is slated to begin on July 23 or 24. But with a Minor League season this year seeming unlikely, teams also chose to fill some of these spots with their top prospects. The Braves’ pool actually includes each of their top 12 prospects (per MLB Pipeline’s rankings). But only two or three of those prospects has a shot of being added to Atlanta’s active roster at some point this year.

The members of this prospect group who could be used by Atlanta this year include outfielders and Drew Waters, right-handers , , , Jasseel De La Cruz and , and left-handers and .

Shuster, a left-handed taken in this year's Draft with the 25th overall pick out of Wake Forest, is part of the group of prospects added to this list just to get some experience this year. The others who fit this description are infielder and the club’s top two catching prospects, and .

The Braves opted to place just 56 players on this list for now. This will allow president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos some flexibility should he want to add free agents or other internal pieces over the next few weeks and months.

When a team’s pool is maxed out at 60 players, to add another player, a player must be removed.

Players on a 40-man roster can be removed via trade, waiver claims, return of Rule 5 Draft selection, release, outright assignment, designation for assignment, placement on the 45-day injured list, placement on the COVID-19-related injured list, or placement on the suspended list (by the club) or voluntarily retired, restricted, disqualified or ineligible lists.

Non-40-man-roster players may be removed by trade, release, placement on the COVID-19-related injured list, or placement on the suspended list (by the club) or military, voluntarily retired, restricted, disqualified or ineligible lists. Any injured non-40-man-roster players will continue to count against the team’s player pool unless they are removed through one of the aforementioned transactions.

Here's a look at the Braves' player pool:

Catchers (7): Logan Brown, William Contreras, Travis d’Arnaud, , , Shea Langeliers, Jonathan Morales

It would seemingly benefit the Braves to find somebody more dependable than Jackson to be the top backup option should something happen to d’Arnaud or Flowers. But while the club’s MLB-ready catching depth might be thin, Langeliers and Contreras both provide significant hope for the long-term value Atlanta could receive from this position.

Right-handed (18): Ian Anderson, De La Cruz, Mike Foltynewicz, , Felix Hernández, , , , Darren O’Day, Chad Sobotka, , , , , Patrick Weigel, Bryse Wilson, Kyle Wright, Huascar Ynoa

Anthopoulos has indicated most of his starters will work 3-4 within their first couple starts. So, with the active roster consisting of 30 players during the season’s first two weeks, expect the Opening Day roster to include a few long relief options like Wright, Toussaint and Wilson. Hernández will likely be competing against for the rotation’s last spot. One could start the year in the rotation and the other in the bullpen. Left-handed pitchers (12): Tucker Davidson, , Max Fried, Cole Hamels, , A.J. Minter, Kyle Muller, Sean Newcomb, Philip Pfeifer, Chris Rusin, Jared Shuster,

Hamels, Fried and possibly Newcomb could all begin the season in the rotation. Pfeifer and Matzek both made strong showings during earlier this year. But the plan to carry an extra long reliever or two, combined with the three-batter minimum rule, could lessen the possibility that either of these two relievers begins the season in the bullpen, which was bolstered with the offseason signing of Smith.

Infielders (12): , Yonder Alonso, , , , Adeiny Hechavarría, Pete Kozma, Peter O’Brien, , Braden Shewmake, Yangervis Solarte,

Now that the will have a designated hitter, you could argue there’s more reason to think Alonso could earn a roster spot. But the club has some better options, including Riley and . Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that the Braves' 40-man roster has just one vacancy. Culberson, Solarte and Alonso are all non-roster invitees. The ease of finding room for one of them will be more difficult if a spot also has to open for Hernández and possibly Tomlin.

Outfielders (7): Ronald Acuña Jr., , , Nick Markakis, Marcell Ozuna, Cristian Pache, Drew Waters

Really, the only question is how will manager use Ozuna. If Ozuna is used as the primary DH, the Braves could platoon Markakis and Duvall in left field. There’s also a chance Camargo could be used as an outfielder. Had the start of this season not been delayed, Pache and Waters might have already made their respective big league debuts. Time will tell if either experiences that thrill this year.

According to MLB's Operating Manual, all players on a 40-man roster “that the Club anticipates participating” during the season will be part of the player pool, while the rest will be made up of non-40-man roster players under contract. Any 40-man-roster players who are not included in a player pool (for example, maybe a prospect who isn’t deemed ready for the Majors) will still be paid during the season.

No team will be allowed to exceed the limit of 60 players in its player pool at any time during camp or the regular season.

Flowers talks safety precautions, prep for '20

By Mark Bowman

ATLANTA -- As the Braves’ player representative, Tyler Flowers has spent the past few weeks regularly keeping his teammates updated regarding the negotiations between and the Players Association.

Now that the stage has been set for the 2020 season to unfold, Flowers understands the significant responsibility he and every other big leaguer will have to adhere to the safety protocols implemented to guard against the spread of COVID-19.

“The more we take it serious and follow the rules, the more it’s going to benefit everybody within our team, our family, organization, the game and the country,” Flowers said. “I think it’s imperative we all adhere to [the policies] and follow them and take them serious even if we’re not high-risk ourselves. A number of people around us could really struggle if they ended up getting this virus, so we have to be on top of it as much as we can.”

When the Braves begin gathering for what we’ll refer to as Summer Camp next week, Flowers expects there will be many more discussions about the steps and sacrifices players and staff members will need to take over the next few months.

Braves outfielder Adam Duvall has Type 1 diabetes and thus falls into the high-risk category. There may also be some additional concern for how the virus could impact some of the older members of the organization. Four members of the coaching staff are 60 or older.

“With Duvall’s situation, he has to stay on top of things,” Flowers said. “But we all have that same responsibility -- not just for ourselves but for guys like Duvall who are high-risk -- to follow the protocols that have been put in place. That’s going to [help] ourselves and our families, but it’s also going to benefit teammates and guys who have a little different health situation and who are high-risk.”

As the past few months have evolved, Flowers has remained close to the suburban Atlanta home he shares with his wife and five children. The 34- year-old has been able to take some swings in the batting cage located on his property, but he has not been able to get away from the house to catch Mike Soroka, Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb and some of the other Braves pitchers who have been working at some high school and college fields around the area.

Much of Flowers’ time over the past few weeks was spent participating in calls with union officials. The negotiations might have taken longer and proven more frustrating than he and others would have liked. But with all of this now in the rear-view mirror, he is looking forward to enjoying what will be a unique and potentially extremely exciting season.

“I just view [the negotiations] as part of the business,” Flowers said. “There are two sides to it. Both sides had something they were attempting to achieve. I think both sides would potentially have done things different to get things done sooner. But ultimately, we ended up with the season and I think a lot of people weren’t that optimistic from the get-go about even having a season. “From that regard, you could call it somewhat of a success. But it definitely wasn’t streamlined. It was a little stressful. There were a lot of conversations that a lot of times ended up going nowhere. But ultimately, the original agreement is where we ended up. Hopefully, we’ll still get something in this year to play some ball, have some fun and give people something to watch.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Braves announce initial player pool for 2020 season

By Gabriel Burns, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Braves have released their initial player pool for the 2020 season. These are the players who will be eligible for the Braves throughout the 60- game campaign.

Pools include those currently on the 40-man roster and additional players who could be selected or promoted to the big-league club later. The maximum pool size is 60, though most teams’ first lists left room for additions.

In the Braves’ case, their initial pool included 56 players, 17 of whom are non-roster invitees. The list featured 30 pitchers, seven , 12 infielders and seven outfielders. They can fill the four open spots at any time.

The following players comprise the Braves’ pool (non-roster players marked by asterisk):

Right-handed pitchers (18): Ian Anderson*, Jasseel De La Cruz, Mike Foltynewicz, Shane Greene, Felix Hernández*, Luke Jackson, Chris Martin, Mark Melancon, Darren O’Day, Chad Sobotka, Mike Soroka, Josh Tomlin*, Touki Toussaint, Jacob Webb, Patrick Weigel, Bryse Wilson, Kyle Wright, Huascar Ynoa

Left-handed pitchers (12): Tucker Davidson, Grant Dayton, Max Fried, Cole Hamels, Tyler Matzek*, A.J. Minter, Kyle Muller*, Sean Newcomb, Philip Pfeifer, Chris Rusin*, Jared Shuster*, Will Smith

Catchers (7): Logan Brown*, William Contreras, Travis d’Arnaud, Tyler Flowers, Alex Jackson, Shea Langeliers*, Jonathan Morales*

Infielders (12): Ozzie Albies, Yonder Alonso*, Johan Camargo, Charlie Culberson*, Freddie Freeman, Adeiny Hechavarría, Pete Kozma*, Peter O’Brien*, Austin Riley, Braden Shewmake*, Yangervis Solarte*, Dansby Swanson

Outfielders (7): Ronald Acuña, Adam Duvall, Ender Inciarte, Nick Markakis, Marcell Ozuna, Cristian Pache, Drew Waters*

Note: A player(s) could still decide to opt out of the season because he or a family member is high-risk. Alex Anthopoulos said last week he didn’t expect anyone to opt out at this time, but the situation is fluid.

The Braves also announced reliever Jeremy Walker was placed on the 45-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement.

Opening-day rosters will consist of 30 players. That will drop to 28 players after two weeks and 26 players after a month. The pool players who aren’t on the roster will work out at the Braves’ Alternate Training Camp at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville.

The list didn’t contain any surprises. Like most teams, the Braves were expected to carry a handful of their top prospects. While not yet official, there won’t be minor-league baseball in 2020, meaning there’s value in carrying prospects even if they don’t play in the majors this season.

Anderson, Pache and Waters are the Braves’ top three prospects. Each could make his debut this season, though it’s easier to find opportunity for Anderson than it is the outfielders. The Braves already are dealing with a crowded of veterans.

Each of the Braves’ top trio likely already was to debut over the course of a normal 162-game season. That still may be the case, but it’s impossible to project how rosters will unfold over the next few months.

Muller, the tall hard-throwing lefty, isn’t expected to join the Braves this season. Instead, he’ll likely continue his development at the alternate camp. The same can be said of Langeliers, whom the team drafted in the first round a year ago and hopes will become its backstop of the future.

Perhaps the most notable inclusion was Shuster, whom the team drafted 25th overall earlier this month. When camp opens, it will be Shuster’s first experiences in the organization.

As for the major-league team, Soroka, Fried and Foltynewicz headline the rotation. Hamels, who battled shoulder discomfort during the original spring training, is expected to be ready for opening day, according to Anthopoulos.

Hernandez, a former Cy Young winner, showed enough in the exhibition season to provide hope he’ll be able to cover innings. Newcomb was transitioning back into a starter after spending most of last season in the bullpen, and the Braves could rely on him in both roles this season. The pool highlights the Braves’ young pitching depth. Wright, Toussaint and Wilson could play important roles, especially in the early part of the season as pitchers log fewer innings. Anderson, De La Cruz, Weigel and Davidson could make their MLB debuts.

The Braves’ bullpen is still deep, featuring former All-Stars Melancon, Greene, O’Day and Smith, along with the strike-throwing Martin. Tomlin and Jackson are expected to be important contributors again. Dayton, Sobotka, Webb, Ynoa, Pfeifer, Rusin, Minter and Matzek provide additional depth.

Acuna, Albies, Freeman and Ozuna top the Braves’ lineup, creating one of the better foursomes in baseball. Riley, Camargo, Swanson, Inciarte, Markakis, Duvall and the catching duo of Flowers and d’Arnaud round out a strong group of core position players.

Additional depth includes Culberson, Alonso, O’Brien, Kozma, Hechavarria, Solarte, Waters and Pache. Shewmake, the Braves’ second first rounder of 2019, isn’t expected to make his debut this season.

It’s reasonable to think the Braves will try to add another veteran catcher to the mix. If Flowers or d’Arnaud misses time, their third catcher is the inexperienced Jackson, who appeared in four major-league games last year. Contreras, who was added to the 40-man roster this offseason, could crack the bigs this summer but doesn’t solve the inexperience issue.

While teams cannot exceed the 60-player limit, they can make transactions that would alter their pools. Signings, releases, waiver claims, designation for assignment, the injured list and other standard moves are permitted during the season. The trade deadline is Aug. 31, just over a month into the season.

The deadline for initial player pools was 4 p.m. ET Sunday. Summer training camp begins Wednesday. Opening day is slated for July 23 or 24.

Braves reliever one of 11 players who won’t get a paycheck

The Associated Press

Reliever Grant Dayton will notice one glaring absence this season after he reports to the Braves: his twice-a-month salary.

He is among 11 major leaguers whose prorated pay for the abbreviated 60-game season amounts to less than the $286,500 advance already received by the 32-year-old left-hander.

“It’s going to be weird not getting a paycheck,” he said Friday, “but we already got paid.”

Former Braves pitcher Matt Wisler, now with the Twins, won’t get any more money either due to a $268,519 advance.

After opening day was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, Major League Baseball and the players’ association agreed March 26 to a deal that called for teams to advance $170 million in salaries over the first 60 days of the season.

Others who won’t get paychecks because of lower prorated salaries are pitcher Jimmy Nelson and reliever Jonathan Holder ($277,778 each), Pittsburgh infielder Erik Gonzalez ($268,519 apiece), Philadelphia catcher Andrew Knapp ($262,943), pitcher Jharel Cotton ($237,037), pitchers Collin McHugh of Boston, Ross Stripling of the Dodgers and Jesse Hahn of Kansas City ($222,222 each) and Milwaukee pitcher Freddy Peralta ($575,200).

“My first reaction was, wow, if we don’t have any games this year, I’m going to get paid the same amount that Freddie Freeman’s getting paid, so that’s pretty cool,” Dayton said in a reference to his teammate, a four-time All-Star first baseman with a $22 million salary that was cut to about $8.15 million. “I knew that there was going to be a point that if we resume games, I wouldn't get paid. And I was OK with that because we still received significant amounts of money and we’re fine.”

Each of the roughly 480 players with so-called “straight” contracts that call for a salary received $286,500. The 769 players with “split” contracts that have a lower salary in the minor leagues — generally a younger group not yet eligible for arbitration — got either $16,500, $30,000 or $60,000, depending on their minor league pay level.

Dayton, who has spent parts of three seasons in the majors, has a $655,000, one-year contract. His prorated salary for the short season will be $242,593, assuming the contagion does not cause more games to be canceled.

The group won’t have to return any cash because the March deal states “in the event there is a 2020 championship season, any amounts advanced to individual players that cannot be recouped by clubs via payroll deduction during the 2020 season for any reason shall be reimbursed to clubs from the International Tax Fund at the conclusion of the 2020 season.”

That tax fund is money collected from teams that exceeded their specified bonus pools to sign high-priced Latin American amateurs.

“We’re blessed because we’re getting more money than the prorated amount,” Dayton said.

Most of the group has relatively low salaries for arbitration-eligible players because of injuries that sidelined them and reduced their statistics. Nelson returned last June from shoulder surgery and was limited to three starts and seven relief appearances.

McHugh missed September and the postseason with a sore right elbow and signed a deal with a $600,000 salary and $3.65 million in performance and roster bonuses.

Cotton, Dayton, Hahn and Stripling all were interrupted by elbow surgery early in their careers, and Gonzalez missed more than half of last season after breaking his collarbone.

Peralta has a low salary in 2020 as part of a $15.5 million, five-year contract he agreed to in March.

Dayton was 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 14 relief appearances last year and is 1-3 with a 3.34 ERA in 68 big league games that included time with the Dodgers in 2016-17. He wonders how he will fare in arbitration next winter.

“It's going to be a weird year and a short season, but I guess they’re going to have to treat it on paper like a real season, a championship season," he said. "And as far as contracts go in the future, they’re going to have to take the stats this year, which is kind of scary for a relief pitcher, to be honest because you have one bad game, it takes a whole year to get that back. The slow starters can't be slow starters anymore."

To resume preparation for the new season, Dayton will drive Monday from his home in Winter Haven, Florida, to Atlanta with wife Cori, 2 1/2-year- old son Decker and nearly 6-month-old Nolan for Braves' workouts at .

Stripling, a financial adviser for B. Riley Wealth Management when he’s not playing baseball, negotiated a $2.1 million deal in January but was able to have $1.5 million designated as a signing bonus, which is protected and not reduced. Only the $600,000 specified as salary in the contract gets prorated.

“It will be strange to receive no money or paychecks throughout the year,” he said. “I’m thankful for my background in finance, because I’m comfortable with my ability to budget. I do worry about the 10 other guys in my situation. Technically will be receiving zero income until next April. That’s a long time to budget ahead.”

Our sports return soon, but will they be as good and fun as usual?

By Michael Cunningham, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

MLB players are set to arrive for work by Wednesday to prepare for a 60-game regular season beginning July 23 or 24. Soon after ballplayers report, 22 NBA teams will go to Orlando to get ready for an eight-game conclusion to the season starting July 30 (playoffs to follow). MLS will begin a 54-match tournament on July 8, college football will start practicing for a 12-game season a few days later and NFL players will report in late July to get ready for a 16-game schedule.

American sports leagues are trudging forward with plans to play games during a pandemic that’s spiking in several states. Maybe they won’t finish them. But having numbers — amount of games, calendar dates, roster sizes — alleviated some of the exhausting uncertainty about whether sports will happen this year.

Lots of people want as many games as possible, including those who play them, but no one seems to be talking about quality. Will the games be good under the circumstances? Will they be as much fun with novel coronavirus in the background at all times, and in the foreground when participants inevitably are infected by COVID-19?

Whether the games will be good depends largely on players being ready. Elite athletes can adapt to changes. But it’s still the case that players in MLB, NBA and MLS had their normal routines suddenly interrupted.

NBA and MLB players will have three-week camps. That should be enough time for basketball players to get in game shape. But baseball’s starting pitchers will be limited to begin the season. Ballplayers won’t have the benefit of playing exhibition games before the ones that count.

College football and the NFL still are planning to hold training camps as normal. That seems wildly optimistic under the circumstances. And, at some point, football players will have to come in close contact with one another on the field.

Truncated training camps wouldn’t be ideal. Players are already behind in practice time. COVID-19 wiped out most spring sessions for college football. NFL teams didn’t have offseason camps. Some NFL players have gathered on their own to practice in small groups, but that’s not the same as full-squad sessions.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan makes the case that working with teammates away from the full team can be beneficial.

“Sometimes it almost even better when you remove coaches from it,” Ryan said during an episode of Chris Long’s “Green Light” podcast. “Not to say our (coaches) don’t do a great job. But you get to spend time explaining things from my perspective and why I need certain guys in certain spots.”

I doubt many coaches would agree with Ryan’s assessment. Some of that is because coaches crave control and can take preparation past the point of diminishing returns. But if those coaches who attribute sloppy football early in the season to limited practice time with less contact are right, then game play this year will be even more haphazard. Once the games begin, players will have to get used to no fans in the stands. The NBA and MLS are playing in a “bubble” in Orlando. MLB will start with no spectators in home stadiums, though some franchise owners say they plan on hosting fans eventually. Yes, that comes after they claimed for weeks that they needed players to sacrifice salary because there will be less revenue with no fans at games.

I’ve watched a lot of fan-less matches in the top German and English soccer leagues. The constant, coordinated chants of fans are a major part of the character of those matches. The broadcasts have done a surprisingly good job of piping in cheers that match the action. You still notice there are no fans, but the background noise helps.

But the players seem more muted in their emotions, including celebrations. That makes me wonder if some of the fun also will be missing with relatively quiet arenas in basketball, baseball and football. And how might that impact the quality of play?

“The lack of fans could affect the motivation, effort, and intensity of players,” Natalie Durand-Bush, president of the Association for Applied Sports Psychology, wrote in an email. “Many athletes use the energy of crowds to regulate their intensity/arousal. Yet, athletes usually use a variety of strategies to effectively manage their energy and attention and should be able to mitigate the effects of playing in empty arenas.”

Players won’t be able to escape from what’s happening outside of arenas. We’ve already seen multiple positive COVID-19 tests for those reporting for duty or already working, including two Atlanta United players. Positive tests now are manageable compared to what they’ll mean during the season.

MLS and the NBA have protocols for what happens if players inside the bubbles are infected. Baseball announced it will have an injured list specifically for the coronavirus. It’s likely to be used regularly with MLB players going back and forth to ballparks and traveling for road games.

COVID-19 adds a new element to the injuries that always are a topic in sports. The time necessary for isolation and recovery will be weeks. For baseball and basketball, that means infected players could be out for all or most of the remaining season. Campaigns of player attrition don’t sound fun.

The professional athletes who decide to play will do so under safety protocols that were negotiated by their union representatives. They presumably know about the potential long-term effects of COVID-19, including lung damage. Players with underlying conditions can opt out. Those who end up getting sick with relatively mild symptoms can say they took the risks and got unlucky.

The perils could be more serious for older coaches and staff members. Astros manager Dusty Baker, 71, is forthcoming about his concerns.

“I’m a bit nervous,” Baker told the Associated Press. “I’ve seen the reports in Houston how COVID’s going up so I’m going to have to really be careful. ... I’ve read all the reports on what to do and how to stay good. So, in my mind and in my heart, I’m in good shape and I’m ready to go.”

That’s become the general spirit for sports in the COVID-19 era. There are risks and worries, but sports are ready to go. There will be games. We’ll see if they’ll be good and fun under the circumstances.

Braves have plenty of options as designated hitter comes to NL

By Gabriel Burns, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Braves consider themselves well-equipped for the National League’s new world.

A designated hitter in the NL is among the implemented changes for the upcoming 60-game season. The long-discussed possibility felt inevitable, though under previous circumstances, the earliest it was expected was 2022.

Instead, the DH was included as part of Major League Baseball’s health and safety protocols for the 2020 season. And while it’s not yet official for the 2021 campaign, the universal DH is expected to be an MLB staple after the new collective bargaining agreement is completed (the current arrangement expires in December 2021).

In the immediate future, the Braves are more than satisfied with their DH options. While some teams have an obvious DH candidate – think Yoenis Cespedes with the Mets and Ryan Braun with the Brewers – the Braves will play the matchups.

The team already had a crowded outfield, including Ronald Acuna, Ender Inciarte, Marcell Ozuna, Nick Markakis and Adam Duvall. The latter three are the likeliest DH candidates depending on the circumstances.

The DH also helps the Braves’ third-base conundrum. Way back when, in the original spring training, Austin Riley and Johan Camargo were putting on a show through their competition for the job. The DH enables manager Brian Snitker to plug both into the lineup if he chooses.

“I’m excited because I like our group,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who’s quite familiar with the DH from his lengthy tenure in Toronto. “I like our position-players group. We like the fact that if someone is a little banged up, we still can put him at the DH spot knowing that, at the end of games, our bench isn’t going to be as important (as far as) needing guys to for anybody. Sure, there might be times, left on left, that you use a guy off the bench, or the other way around if we face a left-handed starter. And also, it just allows for managing your bullpen, starter, things like that.” Anthopoulos added that the DH will “open up playing time for guys who are well-deserving.”

About those players: The Braves inked Ozuna to a one-year deal this offseason. They were desperate for pop in the middle of the order and could live with the defensive limitations. Ozuna’s range and arm strength have dwindled since right-shoulder surgery two years ago. Markakis, at age 36, isn’t a renowned defender at this stage either. Both are logical DH options.

While still a DH option, Duvall is a superior defender to the aforementioned two, meaning on days he plays – he’s far more effective against lefties – it’s logical to think he’ll be in the field. The team had planned to platoon Markakis, who’s better against right-handers, and Duvall in the outfielder before signing Ozuna.

Those options, along with Acuna’s defensive versatility in the outfield, give the Braves several ways to configure their lineup. There’s also a scenario Riley and Camargo force themselves into the daily lineup – an instance the Braves would, of course, welcome.

All in all, Snitker will be able to ride the hot hand in the outfield and third base, with the only certainties being that Acuna and Ozuna will be in the regular lineup.

As Anthopoulos indicated, the bottom line is that the DH opens up playing time for their glut of bats that otherwise would’ve been absent. In removing the pitcher’s spot, it also lengthens the Braves’ lineup, which had questions after one of baseball’s most potent top fours (Acuna, Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman, Ozuna).

“We’re in a very good spot for the DH with the way our current squad is set up,” Anthopoulos said. “I’m excited that we’ll get a lot of these guys playing time and get them at-bats. I think all these clubs in the NL East are very deep as well. They’re very good. It’s going to be very close, assuming health for the most part. I expect it to be a very, very tight race.”

Know who’s set up nicely for a 60-game season? The Braves

By Mark Bradley, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Projecting a 60-game baseball season is a fool’s errand, given that there has never been a 60-game baseball season. The only antecedent – we stipulate that it’s a faulty antecedent – came in the strike year of 1981.

There were no games between June 12 and July 31 of that year. Once the strike ended, MLB decreed that the four division leaders at the cessation of play on July 11 were first-half division winners, meaning they were already bound for an expanded playoff. Having nothing to prove, the Yankees and Dodgers finished sixth and fourth in their respective divisions over the second half. No matter. Both wound up in the .

Neither half-season in 1981 was precisely that. The Dodgers edged Cincinnati for first place in the NL West over the first half because they played one more game. Kansas City finished one game ahead of Oakland over the second half in the AL West; the Royals played 53 games, the A’s 49. Over both halves, the two National League teams with the two best records were the Reds and the Cardinals; neither made the eight-team playoff field.

This much-shortened regular season – assuming it actually begins and reaches completion, about which I still have doubts – offers a level playing field. Everybody plays 60 games. Every team in an East division plays only teams from the two East divisions; the same with the Central and the West. We’re about to see short-track baseball, which flies in the face of everything this gently undulating sport had come to be, but sometimes needs must.

The trouble with projecting a season that’s 37% of the usual length is that it’s the rough equivalent of predicting how the standings would look on any given Memorial Day. Over 162 games, there are no fluke winners. Over 60, there might well be. On Memorial 2019, the Phillies and Cubs were division leaders. Neither made the playoffs. The Cardinals were a .500 team. They won the Central. The Nationals were 10 games below .500. They won the World Series.

On Feb. 21, Dan Szymborksi’s ZiPs ratings on FanGraphs gave the Braves a 66% chance of making the playoffs. His 60-game projection assigns the same team a 48.8 % chance. The Phillies’ postseason chances have risen from 18.7% to 30.4. That’s a reflection of the shortened schedule, not of the teams. Almost anything can happen over 60 games. Per ZiPS in February, the Astros had an 88.1% chance of making the playoffs; ZiPS now assigns them a 60.9% shot.

That’s why today’s exercise is, for want of a better word, silly. Over a six-month season, one bad month can be overcome. Over a 10-week season, one lousy week could change everything. No organization sets up a team with the aim of playing well for 60 games. That said …

The Braves appear suited for what’s apt to come. There are two huge wiggle words in the previous sentence – “appear” and “apt” – but if you’re looking for a team with enough starting pitching to subsist after 3½ weeks of non-spring training and a bullpen capable of covering four innings on a daily basis, this is it.

There’s a word Alex Anthopoulos uses in every discussion of his club. That word is “depth.” While an assistant general manager with the Dodgers, he saw the difference a roster’s 24th and 25th men can make. In two-plus years as GM here, the cultivation of depth has been his greatest contribution. (Well, that and one year of .) In 2018, only one of the five relievers who’d appeared in 50-plus games made the Braves’ 25-man postseason roster. In 2019, Anthopoulos’ deadline haul included three relievers – Chris Martin, Shane Greene and Mark Melancon. Those three are still here. So are Darren O’Day, who is finally healthy after his 2018 acquisition, and Will Smith, the All-Star closer signed in November for $40 million over three seasons. There aren’t many deeper bullpens. There mightn’t be any.

Anthopoulos’ timing – Martin and O’Day were re-signed in November – could prove fortuitous in this pandemic season. Most years, even good clubs skimp on bullpen arms until the trade deadline, figuring they can always go buy one or two come July. This year’s trade deadline will be Aug. 31, not five weeks after the season is set to start. Not many teams will be sellers by then; at least 20 clubs could still have realistic playoff expectations. Having already bought, the Braves shouldn’t need to buy again.

The stop-and-start of baseball – spring training began in February and ended March 12; since then, there’s been nothing – means that a starting pitcher’s role has been redefined. For the first month or so, seven innings won’t be required. Five, or even four, could suffice. This might even be a time to trot out a six-man rotation, which the Braves could do: Soroka, Foltynewicz, Fried, Wright, Newcomb and eventually Hamels. (And don’t forget King Felix. Don’t forget Ian Anderson, either. It’s not as if he’s going to be pitching in the minors.)

The concept of a strict five-man rotation is something else the Dodgers have flouted. L.A. deployed 11 different starting pitchers in each of the past two seasons. A 60-game season doesn’t figure to hinge on consistency; there won’t be time for that. It will come down to who’s the healthiest today. Yes, fewer games boost the chances of lesser teams, but having more arms – for the thousandth time: pitching is 75% of baseball – is the best inoculation against the vagaries of a small sample size.

This doesn’t mean the Braves are a lock to win the NL East or even claim a wild card. Over 60 games, there are no locks. I do, however, like their chances. Had Anthopoulos sought to build a roster with a two-month sprint in mind – he didn’t, but let’s pretend – I don’t know that he’d have come up with one much different from this.

The Athletic

Braves catcher: Protocols must be followed, World Series trophy still will gleam

By David O'Brien

Braves catcher Tyler Flowers has a wife and five children, a teammate with Type 1 diabetes and a manager and three coaches who are 60 or older, all important reasons why it’s crucial that Flowers and the rest of the Braves follow closely a lengthy list of protocols designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Then there is the fact that the deep, talented Braves believe they have a real chance to advance deep in the playoffs and perhaps win the World Series after the shortest-ever Major League Baseball season, a 60-game venture set to begin in four weeks, coronavirus permitting. Braves pitchers and catchers begin reporting Wednesday for a 3 ½-week minicamp in Atlanta but will first be tested for COVID-19.

“I definitely plan on taking (protocols) as seriously as they direct us to,” Flowers said during a Zoom call Friday. “They’re definitely smarter than I am, so whatever ideas they have are better than my own. So that’s my intention, especially with little kids at home and my wife at home being the only one to deal with it. During this whole pandemic, too, it’s hard to get babysitters or anything right now. So I plan on taking it very seriously.

“I think a lot of guys, if they want to complete this season with what we have in front of us, I think we should all take it very seriously. That’s going to give us the best chance to make it through the season and then to the postseason and hopefully complete the whole thing without (a shutdown), where we can make it to the end. Because I think a lot of people are really anxious to see something on TV besides NASCAR — but I like NASCAR, too.”

Flowers is the Braves’ representative to the MLB Players Association, the labor union that slogged through weeks of acrimonious negotiations with MLB owners about, among other things, the economics and the workable number of games in a season severely shortened and to be played in front of mostly empty stadiums because of the coronavirus.

They didn’t reach agreement on much, and the season length ultimately was imposed unilaterally by commissioner Rob Manfred, but the players did sign off on the extensive protocols in a booklet that grew and grew until it was more than 100 pages.

That included everything from regular testing and daily thermometer checks, to prohibitions on fighting and high-five celebrations, to rules regarding who can shower at the ballpark and how early players can arrive at stadiums before games or linger afterward is covered in the booklet, and Flowers said players need to take it seriously. They have “high-risk” individuals in uniform, including outfielder Adam Duvall, a diabetic, and various members of the coaching staff, including beloved and revered third-base coach , who is 68 and a longtime heavy smoker.

Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said this week he has not had any individuals tell him they plan to opt out of the season, which MLB will allow high-risk players to do and still get paid and receive their full service time. It’s up to each team to set its policy regarding staff members. “I trust that MLB and the Players Association will make certain that the safety protocols that we need to have will be in place,” Washington said. “Along with saying that, as individuals, we’ll have to make certain that we do what we have to do to take care of ourselves, too. We just can’t run around and expect that what they’re doing is the all. It’s not the all; you have to take responsibility for your part in it.

“They’re going to set the boundaries, they’re going to set the grounds, but we have to take responsibility for our part in it. And if we do that, I think we’ll be fine.”

Flowers also said he’s not aware of any Braves players contemplating or planning to opt out of the season.

“Everybody I’ve spoken with, Duvall included, they’re excited,” Flowers said. “They’ve been anxious for months at this point to get something going and to play again. Duvall’s situation, obviously he has to stay on top of things, but we all have that same responsibility. Not just for ourselves, but for guys like Duvall or other guys that are high-risk, to follow the protocols and everything they’ve put in place. That’s going to benefit ourselves and our families, but it’s also going to benefit teammates and guys that, you know, have a little different health situation and are a little more high- risk. That’s just the responsibility is on us to help him stay healthy and be able to compete and help us win.”

It’s the same scenario with coaches, Flowers said. The Braves have a staff that’s widely viewed as one of the best and most experienced in baseball. The older coaches, particularly those with other pre-existing conditions, are risking more than most players, as older patients who contract COVID- 19 more often experience severe symptoms, require hospitalization, and have a morbidity rate much higher than otherwise healthy, younger patients.

“That’ll probably be something discussed early on (at training camp), and if it’s not, it’s something I’d like to say,” Flowers said. “That it’s our responsibility to take care of these guys. We’re all one big family. We spend a lot of time together in a lot of places, and the more we all take it serious and follow the rules, ultimately it’s going to benefit everybody within our team, our family, organization, the game, the country.

“So I think it’s imperative that we all adhere to them and follow along and take them serious, even if we’re not high-risk ourselves. A number of people could really struggle if they ended up getting this virus. So we have to be on top of it as much as we can.”

Flowers said he was so involved in keeping Braves players updated on the status of negotiations in recent weeks and on being “Mr. Mom” with five kids while also ramping up his own workouts in preparation for the minicamp and delayed season that he hadn’t entirely read through all the details of every protocol. But he knows the basics of what’s in place and how much certain aspects of the clubhouse culture — as well as accustomed behaviors on the field and in the dugout — will have to change in deference to coronavirus prevention.

“Hopefully we get an additional crash course on all of them,” Flowers said of the protocols. “There’s a few of them that stand out in my mind, that I think we can handle just fine. I’d be lying to you if I said I knew every single one of them. So forgive me, I’ve kind of taken a breather in reading all these pages since we actually got something done (in negotiations). I kind of cashed out the last few days, so I haven’t even read through the entire thing yet.

“Having spoke with George (Poulis, the Braves’ head athletic trainer) and some of the guys, they’re on top of it, and I think they have kind of bullet points for us as far as the specific protocols that they’re going to implement, and hopefully they even have some easier ways for us to stay on top of them. Hopefully, it’s going to help us. The more we follow them, the better chance and the more likely we’re going to be able to complete this whole season and complete a postseason.”

Washington realized early on in the shutdown, when he began reading and hearing about proposed rules, and then later while watching Korean League games in the early morning hours on ESPN, that he and the rest of the coaches and Braves players would have to make some major adjustments. And he said he’s ready because he knows it’s the only way to make this work.

“Yeah, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “I’ve been watching the Korean baseball, what they do, and I’ll probably have to wear a mask all the time on the third-base coaching line. I’ll probably have to wear a mask when I’m working (with infielders). I’m just going to keep a pair of gloves on at all times. I’m just going to have to give imaginary love, won’t be able to be giving that real love. (Washington laughed.)

“Don’t mean we can’t bump elbows or bump fists. That’s the only thing that’s going to be missing, but they’re going to realize the love is there no matter what.”

Speaking of love, there is less of it between baseball and many of its fans following the drawn-out negotiations that came across to many as being entirely tone-deaf during a pandemic, as tens of millions of Americans filed for unemployment and the death toll from COVID-19 in the United States approached and eventually surpassed 100,000.

Mistakes were made on both sides of what many outside baseball view as a battle between billionaire owners and millionaire players, and the constant trickle of leaks from negotiations, along with bitter statements made by leaders on both sides, only fanned the frustrations of fans and turned off many who swore on social media that they would not forgive baseball for this ugly episode. Only time will tell if they meant it and stick by it.

Flowers knows how it all looked and understands and regrets the way some of it went down — even though, as he said, it’s “part of the game, part of the business.”

The timing of such business being made public, however, couldn’t have been worse. “I think both sides had different things they were trying to achieve,” he said. “I think both sides would potentially at this point do some things differently to hopefully get something done sooner than we ended up getting done. But ultimately we ended up with a season, and I think a lot of people weren’t that optimistic from the get-go about even having a season.

“So if you look at it in that regard, you could call it somewhat a success. But it definitely wasn’t streamlined. It was a little stressful. A lot of conversations that a lot of times ended up going really nowhere. But ultimately I guess the original agreement is where we ended up. Thank goodness we’re still going to hopefully get something in this year to play some ball and have a little fun and give people something to watch.”

If MLB can pull it off, if the league can avoid another shutdown and play a 60-game schedule followed by a full postseason, Flowers doesn’t think the brevity of the season will diminish the achievement or sense of accomplishment or joy in winning a World Series.

“I could see a few sides to (that discussion),” he said. “But in my opinion, every team is playing the same number of games, so for me, that’s a competitor, that’s a legitimate season. I mean, is a high school season or a college season any less legit based on the number of games that they play? I don’t think so. Maybe some people do. But for me, we’re all playing the same amount of games, so that’s going to determine who’s the best team in that period of time.

“Unfortunately we don’t really have a choice in how many games we play. That’s what we’ve all got, and I think everyone is going to be just as anxious to get out of the games running and hopefully solidify themselves in a playoff spot and then keep rolling from there. I think the champagne and everything is going to feel just the same.”

One noticeable difference with such a shortened season, Flowers said, will be the importance of avoiding a slow start. Good teams easily can recover from a bad April, or even a sluggish first two months, in a normal 162-game, six-month season. Just look at the last season, when they started out 19-31.

That likely would have doomed their chances of making the postseason in a 60-game season, but the Nationals took off after that slow start last season, won a wild-card berth and went on to win the World Series.

This year is different. And Flowers believes the sense of urgency each game will be different. Managers will approach this more like they would games in a pennant race, where each is important. Teams will be reluctant to sacrifice a single game for the bigger picture, as often happens during a 162-game season, when a manager sticks with a struggling starting pitcher because he doesn’t want to burn the bullpen early in a series, or when he decides to rest some tired, sore or struggling player(s) and sticks by that decision even in the late innings of a winnable game.

All teams need to do is point to the Nationals’ start last season to remind everyone that good teams could get left out of the postseason in 2020 if they don’t play well from Opening Day or soon thereafter.

“I think every team is going to have something like that in mind,” Flowers said. “And that’s just the reality of the season we’re about to come to. As you know there’s definitely times where teams approach a game differently based on the long term of that road trip, or the next month, or (because) the All-Star break’s coming up. It ends up affecting some decisions from time to time. I don’t think those decisions are going to be made quite the same because of the numbers (of games in a shortened season).”

Rosenthal: MLB, union still negotiating a variety of player contract issues

By Ken Rosenthal

The negotiations still are not over.

When Major League Baseball exercised its right Tuesday to implement a 60-game season in the absence of a negotiated agreement with the Players Association, a number of issues regarding individual player contracts remained unresolved.

The parties spent the weekend discussing an agreement that would determine how vesting options, roster bonuses and other clauses would be calculated for the abbreviated 2020 season. The conversations might have been necessary even if the sides had reached a settlement last week, but now time is of the essence, with players starting to get tested for COVID-19 and reporting to training camps by Wednesday. A failure to reach agreement could spark additional material for grievances, but sources suggested Sunday night that a deal was within reach.

Cardinals reliever , a member of the union’s eight-man executive sub-committee, is one of the players with a vesting option for 2021 that is in dispute. MLB, according to sources on the players side, originally wanted to pro-rate the amount of Miller’s option from $12 million to $4.44 million, using the same formula by which it will pay players this season. The league later indicated the vesting options for 2021 might retain their full values, but because of the shortened schedule, differences remain over the number of games in which Miller and others will need to appear to guarantee their ’21 salaries.

The issues that have arisen in recent days have surprised and upset some players, who according to some agents were not fully advised by the union of these open-ended questions in the March agreement between the parties. Once the league chose to implement a schedule, that agreement – and its stipulation that players will be paid on a prorated, per-game basis – became the framework for the 2020 season. A subsequent agreement might have covered some of the outstanding issues, but none of those topics was addressed in any draft of the proposals exchanged between the parties, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions. The unprecedented nature of the sport’s shutdown also made it difficult for the parties to anticipate every situation that has emerged.

The March agreement contemplated a further good-faith discussion on a variety of individual contractual provisions, prompting an intense round of conversations and potential tradeoffs between the league and union over the weekend.

“All thresholds and amounts for bonuses, escalators, and other similar special covenants (e.g., performance point systems, vesting options) shall be reduced pursuant to the applicable (prorated) formula,” the agreement said. “The parties shall negotiate in good faith over the treatment of special covenants that are based on roster status as of a specific date; total days on roster; days on an Injured List; and for players who are currently injured.”

The above paragraph makes no mention of 2021, which is why the league might agree not to reduce the amounts of the vesting options for that season, one source said. If those options are simply prorated, Cubs left-hander Jon Lester would be the first player in major-league history with a buyout ($10 million) that exceeded his vesting option ($9.25 million, prorated from $25 million). The option would serve as a disincentive, rather than the incentive for which it is intended. And the league effectively would be changing previously negotiated contract language between a player and his club.

The value of the option, though, isn’t the only unresolved issue in such examples. Questions also remain unresolved about the number of games in which players would need to appear for their options to vest in a 60-game as opposed to 162-game season.

Miller’s contract states that his vesting option will become guaranteed if he pitches in 110 games in the 2019 and ’20 seasons combined. He appeared in 73 games last season, which would have left him 37 games short of the total, or 23 percent of a 162-game season. The league might argue that his new target should be 23 percent of 60: 14 games. Miller might counter with different math, noting the league will play 222 of a possible 324 games in 2019-20. The corresponding percentage of 110 games is 75, just two more than where Miller currently stands.

Further complicating the equation: The possibility that commissioner Rob Manfred might choose to further shorten or cancel the season because of issues stemming from COVID-19. The parties, then, need to decide how many games someone like Miller would need to pitch if the season ended up consisting of say, 40 games.

One possible solution would involve a tradeoff: The league agreeing that a player can vest the full amount of his option if he hits a pro-rated threshold in a shortened season, but the threshold reverting back to its original number if the season is shortened or canceled, making it all but impossible for the option to vest.

Another issue: Retention bonuses for major-league free agents with six years of service who sign minor-league contracts. In a normal season, a club must add such a player to its roster five days before Opening Day, grant him his unconditional release or pay him a bonus of $100,000 to keep him in its organization. Some players effectively will call a team’s bluff to ensure they receive the bonus, knowing their organization values them and wants depth.

A number of such players were negotiating new deals with their teams over the weekend, knowing they could not re-sign with those clubs if they were released after the 60-man player pools were set. But without their usual leverage, those players were unlikely to receive the $100,000 bonus.

Some if not all of these issues might have been resolved if the parties had reached a new deal superseding the March agreement. Instead, the mad scramble to begin the 2020 season not only includes COVID-19 testing and players racing to training camps, but also even more discussion between the league and union.

Rosenthal: Blockbuster trades are less likely; schedule complaints; scramble for jobs

By Ken Rosenthal

The Athletic’s Jayson Stark wrote jokingly on Thursday that he is taking July 25 for the first trade rumor, and said an executive responded by cracking it might be even earlier. Trades are certain to occur before the one-time Aug. 31 deadline for 2020, but a Lindor-type blockbuster? I’m not so sure.

Yes, a team that trades for Lindor also would acquire him for his final year of control in 2021. Two executives, however, posed this question: How much would a contender give up for Lindor knowing COVID-19 might force the cancellation of the postseason?

Amid such unprecedented circumstances, a team would not simply be mindful of its chances of making the playoffs. It also would need to consider that the playoffs might not even take place. Trading top prospects for Lindor would be less appealing if a club feared he would be part of only one postseason run instead of two.

The shorter season also makes it more likely the races still will be close on Aug. 31, and increases the chance of surprising or even fluky outcomes. Back in spring training, Lindor’s Indians were not considered favorites to reach the postseason. But now, who’s to say they can’t pull it off? If they started hot, they might be less inclined to move Lindor, preferring to take one final shot with him, then revisit trade discussions in the offseason. One last dynamic to consider: Powerhouses such as the Yankees or Dodgers might be more inclined to make a push if they anticipate unexpected playoff qualifiers will water down the postseason field, raising the possibility of at least a weaker first-round opponent.

It’s all so different, all so difficult to predict. What we’re looking at is the near-equivalent of every team in a 162-game season starting with the same record on Aug. 1, only with the threat of COVID-19 causing an interruption or complete shutdown of play. Not exactly the ideal environment for a blockbuster trade.

Before baseball’s shutdown on March 12, the Phillies appeared to stand a reasonable chance of signing catcher J.T. Realmuto to a contract extension before what would have been Opening Day. But now Realmuto is three months from free agency, and the Phillies must deal with the economic impact of the pandemic. An agreement in the near-future would appear unlikely.

Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts, 27, looms as the top free agent this offseason. Realmuto, 29, might be the second-best player on the open market. Neither figures to get as much money as he might have before the pandemic struck, but teams will be in position to exploit a depressed market for complementary players, perhaps making them more inclined to spend big on elite talent.

That theory might be too optimistic, considering players at every ability level are likely to take a hit. But a team such as the Giants could sign Betts, and then pick and choose from the discount bin – a free-agent market possibly flooded with non-tenders, and a trade market in which some teams might be willing to pay down high-priced players’ salaries to escape as much of the commitments as they can.

One thing seems certain: Arbitration salaries are going to fall, not just this offseason, but possibly for several years. The 60-game schedule will hurt arb-eligible players in two ways – preventing them from finishing with the career numbers they might have attained after 162 games and providing too small a sample for them to point to their season as a legitimate platform year.

So, how exactly will arb-eligible players be affected?

Consider a couple of examples.

Athletics first baseman Matt Olson, who is eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter, was on pace to enter the process with 110 to 120 career homers over three-plus seasons. It will be difficult for him to reach that level now, and even if he produces a monster season, good luck finding a comparable. The A’s could simply say, “Sorry. Can’t extrapolate over 162. There is no guarantee you would have sustained your performance.”

Now consider National League MVP Cody Bellinger, who set a record for a first-time eligible player when he agreed with the Dodgers on an $11.5 million salary for this season. It will be difficult for Bellinger to build enough of a case to secure a salary similar to what Betts ($20 million) or Lindor ($17.5 million) received as second-time eligibles, unless, perhaps, he wins the MVP again.

The Dodgers also figure to on right-hander Walker Buehler, who with a big performance over 162 games might have approached or exceeded lefty Dallas Keuchel’s $7.25 million record for a first-time eligible starting pitcher. Virtually every club is in a similar position, looking at savings not just in 2021, but beyond.

The March agreement between the players and owners includes a stipulation that 2021 salaries in arbitration cannot be used as precedent or evidence in any subsequent hearing. But the problem for players is that they will be negotiating from lower numbers initially, and each of the subsequent numbers figures to be lower as well.

An agreement on a longer season would have helped, enabling players to offer a more accurate portrayal of their true performances. The union also could have fought harder for a negotiated settlement that would have included financial protections for players this offseason. No such settlement was reached, and the league exercised its right to impose a schedule without additional benefits to either side.

Early complaints about the schedule – and it’s not even out yet!

Major League Baseball’s imbalanced schedule creates inequities every season, but teams generally accept any perceived disadvantages, knowing a 162-game season leaves them sufficient time to compensate.

In a 60-game schedule, however, each game will be worth 2.7 times more than it is normally, and the inequities created by teams playing six games against their assigned inter-league rivals might carry considerably more meaning.

Consider the NL Central, in which the Cardinals will play six games against the rebuilding Royals, while the Cubs will play six against the emerging White Sox, the Brewers six against the defending AL Central champion Twins and the Reds six against an Indians team coming off 93 victories.

In theory, the Rays and Nationals will enjoy the same advantages as the Cardinals in their respective divisions, the AL East and NL East. The Rays’ assigned rival is the Marlins. The Nationals draw the Orioles. Meanwhile, two other likely contenders in those divisions, the Yankees and Mets, will be stuck playing each other six times.

MLB plans to schedule 10 games for each club against its four division rivals, a simple and logical enough plan. But why didn’t the league take the same approach for games against opponents in the corresponding division, with each team playing those five clubs four times each?

The reason is math. For a 60-game schedule to work, 20 series must be played. MLB is expected to go with 12 series within each division and eight interleague. With those eight series spread among five interleague opponents, the schedule by definition will not be equitable. The more balanced interleague format also would create too many four-game series. In a 30-team sport featuring two leagues and six divisions, both with an odd number of teams, it is simply not possible for all teams to play series of the same length at the same time.

So, the interleague aspect figures to look like this: Two three-game series against your assigned rival. Two three-game series against two other teams in the corresponding division. Two home-and-home two-game series against the remaining two teams.

The reason to play for free

Players with guaranteed contracts were eligible to receive $286,500 as their share of the $170 million advance the owners paid the players as part of the March agreement. But as the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier pointed out, Red Sox right-hander Collin McHugh is among the players whose share will exceed his prorated pay. McHugh, who originally signed for $600,000, will have an adjusted salary of $222,222 for the shortened season.

By that measure, he owes the Red Sox money, but according to a memo the union sent to player agents, any player whose advance exceeded his pro-rated salary will not be required to pay back the difference to the club. The union instead will reimburse the player’s team from the MLB/MLBPA Joint International Tax Fund.

For McHugh, who is joining a new team, the odd scenario raises another question: What is the incentive for him to risk his health in a pandemic and pay rent in Boston for three months when he will not receive any additional guaranteed money?

No player is obligated to play during the pandemic, but economic incentives exist for McHugh and others in his situation. McHugh’s contract includes performance and roster bonuses he can earn on a prorated basis, and because he is a free agent again at the end of the 2020 season, he will be pitching for a job.

Less experienced players who would “play for free” also are unlikely to opt out. Those who are approaching arbitration or in the middle of the process will build their cases for 2021 by appearing in as many games and performing as well as possible. Unless they are classified as high risk, sitting out would have the opposite effect.

Scramble for jobs set to begin

Modestly talented free-agent relievers sometimes hold off signing until after spring training begins, waiting to see if injuries or poor performances create an opportunity for them to sign a major-league contract instead of a minor-league deal.

Cynical as this sounds, executives expect certain free agents to apply similar logic during Spring Training 2.0, knowing positive tests for COVID-19 might open up roster spots. Then again, veteran free agents such as Jared Hughes and also might be motivated to sign quickly after the transaction freeze is lifted at noon ET Friday.

Teams must determine their 60-player pools by 4 p.m. Sunday, and any club that subsequently signs a free agent would be required to remove a player from its 60-man list – and that player could not return this season, according to an email MLB sent to clubs.

“For this reason, clubs should consider the risks of including in their Club Player Pools a non-roster player who has an opt-out/release clause in his contract,” the email said. “A non-roster player who exercises an opt-out/release clause must be released and removed from the Club Player Pool, and cannot be added back.

“As a result, Clubs may wish to consider releasing such non-roster players prior to submitting the Club Player Pool, or otherwise wait to add such players to the Club Player Pool until after the effective date of an opt-out/release clause (when the Club will know the player’s decision).”

In other words, expect some releases before Sunday.

A conversation: Retired African American MLB players on race, baseball, America

By Ken Rosenthal and Doug Glanville

Even the biggest African American baseball stars rarely speak out on sensitive matters during their playing careers. The sport’s culture discourages individuality in any form, and a player who publicly addresses racism — Adam Jones, for example — often faces backlash.

Retired players, though, are not as bound by the concerns that effectively limited them when they were active. So, after some initial attempts to see if a prominent current African American player wanted to talk publicly about the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis went nowhere — one explained that he had to tread lightly out of fear that public attention would risk the safety of his family — I reached out to players from the sport’s recent past about participating in a group interview via Zoom. Every one of them said yes. We also asked The Athletic’s Doug Glanville to moderate the panel. Doug is three things I am not: 1. African American 2. a former major leaguer and 3. a college professor. Doug is an adjunct professor in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut who last semester taught a course entitled “Sport in Society,” a version of which he has also taught at Penn and Yale. He knows how to engage a larger group, and he had a shared history with the others on the panel.

The Zoom call took place Sunday night. I gave Doug a list of topics I thought we might cover, most of which were rather obvious. He had areas he wanted to address as well. The conversation lasted 90 minutes. It was raw, honest, intense. And from my perspective, heartbreaking. I know these guys; I’ve talked to them all over the years. And listening to them speak about their own experiences, I heard pain that I had rarely, if ever, heard from them before.

The panelists included:

• Glanville, a nine-year major-league veteran who works for a variety of media outlets in addition to The Athletic and serves both on the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) and Connecticut State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

• Jimmy Rollins, a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner and former National League MVP who now works as a studio analyst for TBS and broadcaster for the Phillies.

• Ryan Howard, a three-time All-Star and former NL MVP and Rookie of the Year who spent last season as a studio analyst for ESPN before leaving to focus on his business endeavors, including his sports investment firm, SeventySix Capital.

• Dontrelle Willis, a two-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year who works as a studio analyst for Fox Sports.

• Torii Hunter, a five-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove winner who works as a special assistant to baseball operations for the Twins.

• LaTroy Hawkins, a 21-year major leaguer who works as a special assistant to baseball operations for the Twins.

The interview has been edited slightly for length and clarity.

Doug Glanville: Ken was trying to also reach out to current players, and the challenges of why many weren’t feeling comfortable speaking on this topic. I thought it would be good to kick this off by asking what is the difference in your evolution — now at this time in our post-careers, we have a certain level of comfort. What was it like as a current player trying to address these issues?

Jimmy Rollins: I’ll go ahead and lead off. I did my best. I wasn’t Rickey. But I could try to be Rickey.

Obviously, we’ve all been there. It’s just the culture of baseball. It’s not a clubhouse or a home where you’re actually very comfortable walking in saying those things or bringing up those things outside of your little group, three or four guys you can talk about it with in the clubhouse or on the field during stretching. It really doesn’t leave that group. You might feel that way. You might show your anger. But still, the guys in that clubhouse are the guys you’re taking the field with that day, the guys you’re trying to win with for the rest of that year. You have to find that balance of dealing with it, having a place to go, having people to bounce it off, but not making it an issue in the clubhouse.

Obviously, our white counterparts, they have a completely different view. They don’t have to grow up having that talk — and we all know what that talk is. They don’t have to get in a car, drive down the street knowing I didn’t do anything wrong, but this cop has been behind me for two blocks, something’s about to happen. They don’t have those fears. And every time something like this happens, as a player, you know exactly what is going on. When you get in the clubhouse, you do look at your counterparts, they’re going about their day as if nothing happened. And you’ve got three or four guys in the clubhouse looking at each other like, “Man. You see that? You know what that’s about. What can we do?” Then it’s four versus 21. It makes you a little uncomfortable.

Now that I’m done, I wouldn’t say I don’t care as much about others’ opinions. But I really don’t. It is what it is. I don’t have to walk into a clubhouse. I can go ahead and say my piece. As you become older, you become more mature in your thoughts, you find ways to express yourself. You see the world slightly different. You’re no longer in that bubble of sports and being in protection mode. You stand up for yourself a lot more in those situations than you did when you were playing.

As a player, you’re always trying to keep that clubhouse even-keeled and focused on the game. But there are plenty of times you’re going out there with something else on your mind. And having a couple of guys on the team is always good, so you can bounce that off them so you don’t have to let it explode throughout the clubhouse if somebody does something that rubs you the wrong way.

Dontrelle Willis: I agree with you, J-Roll. For me, Jackie Robinson definitely set the tone as far as how to behave through racial adversity. One, because you don’t want to ruin the situation for the next person, for your kids. You don’t want to ruin the chance for someone to play at the highest level.

We’re always taught as a culture to be the bigger person. Have class. Understand the situation not just for yourself. I always tried to be the bigger person, be a captain, be a leader. But now as I have children growing up and have seen all these things, I have more of a responsibility to myself and to my family to really teach them what’s going on in the real world, so they can have the tools and strength to live the best life they can.

But it’s tough. You don’t want your message to be misinterpreted. It’s a tough situation when you’re representing a community. We’ve got to learn on the fly. But like I just said, I’ve got to step forward and speak for my children. LaTroy Hawkins: We never wanted to be a distraction in the clubhouse by talking about social injustice. But once you get away from it, you’ve got a responsibility to yourself and your family to speak out and bring awareness. I’ve got an 18-year-old daughter. I don’t have any sons. My daughter was marching in L.A. (Saturday) in a peaceful protest. She got that from her parents. It makes me proud to know even though she grew up in a situation like this in the suburbs, she has some sense of pride in her race.

Torii Hunter: I never wanted to be that guy who was always talking about racial issues. Even though you were going through it, seeing it as plain as day and your white teammates, they can’t see it … you want to talk to some of them but you can’t. We always talked amongst ourselves. It was like a little huddle. But it never got too far.

You have someone like (Gary) Sheffield. He was called militant. But he told you a truth for years. And no one listened. He probably got kicked out of baseball a little earlier than he should have been. And you see those things, it’s kind of like a harness. If you do it to him, you’re going to do it to me. So, I had better be careful what I say.

I stepped out and said a lot of different things. I got backlash all the time. And it kind of suppressed me a little bit. Sometimes people would come to me and say, “You need to be quiet.” I was like, “I can’t, it’s happening right here.”

Hawkins: We didn’t even mention Bruce Maxwell. He’s completely out of the game, playing in Mexico. He’s the only major-league player who took a knee.

Hunter: And he’s out.

Glanville: The young catcher. He had family in the military, right?

Hawkins: Yes, born in Germany.

Glanville: There’s risk. There’s heavy risk.

Hunter: We had a situation, LaTroy and I in our organization — no names. But we had a situation where players were getting called the n-word or being told, “Turn your kind of music down.” Different things like that. And now we’re in that front office. We said, “Hey, do something about it.” And we went to (chief baseball officer) Derek Falvey right away. Bam! Derek Falvey did something about it. That’s what we need.

Derek Falvey got the information, didn’t cover it up. He got (this guy) out of there because we can’t do that. It’s time for change. That’s why I have so much respect for Derek Falvey, for listening to LaTroy and I, listening to some of the players on the team, that voiced their opinion about what this guy was saying to them, their problem, their complaint. That’s what it’s going to take.

Hawkins: You’ve got to talk about Thad also, Torii (general manager ). He went to the high school “Remember the Titans” was about (the movie, released in 2000, was based on the true story of an African American coach and his attempt to integrate a high school football team in Alexandria, Va.). He understands social injustice and wanting everybody to be comfortable in their workplace.

Glanville: What you gentlemen are speaking about is leadership positions. There is often this criticism that you have this biggest platform in the World Series, and you’re right there during your playing career. There are a lot of questions about, “Why not speak now?” And you’re talking about the tactical components of leadership, being empowered.

Willis: That’s well-put. You have to have people of all backgrounds stick their necks out for each other. There has to be a common respect and appreciation for your fellow man. And I think that has gotten lost in the United States. I think right now, people just don’t see the good in us unless we’re entertaining them. That’s just the bottom line.

You see us in every walk of life, whether it be entertainment, athletics, front line in the Army, anything you can think of, African Americans have played a big role in this. They respect us when we put our lives on the line, put our talents on the line. But as soon as we got out of that stadium or that forum, it’s almost like that respect is diminished. We’ve given everything to this country, generation after generation.

My grandfather fought in the war. My mom was in the Army. My cousin is a sheriff in Hayward (Calif.). I have people who have brought things to the community. It breaks my heart that we’re at this point in 2020 where we’re right back to the fight that our grandparents fought and died for, hoping it would be better for our parents.

Hawkins: I saw a quote that said, “Caucasians want our rhythm. But they don’t want our blues.” That resonated with me. It’s true. We’re entertainers. In all walks of life, you’ve got African Americans doing great things. But there is still a harness, like Torii said, a harness pulling ’em back. You really can’t be yourself. Once you leave the entertainment realm and you’re driving down the street, anything can happen.

It’s just sad. It’s just one of those things: When. Will. It. Change? People are upset. People are furious. Everybody is talking about people burning things down, looting, doing this and that. I look at it like this. You know who taught black people how to loot and riot? The KKK. They did it first. People are tired. They’re tired of not being heard.

Colin Kaepernick did a peaceful protest and he got crucified for it. Now things aren’t peaceful. And people are still getting crucified for it. But if the right people don’t start listening, our people and the people that stand with us, they’re going to be relentless. They’re tired of seeing African Americans, minorities, killed in the street like dogs. They’re tired. We’re tired. I’m tired of riding down the highway coming back from burying my grandfather and the police get behind me. I got over, he wasn’t pulling me over, but I still had this feeling. I shouldn’t have to feel like that, as a black man in America. But I did.

It’s a lot. People don’t understand what players go through. African American players go through a lot. The mental stress of where you come from, how you were raised, how the system was set up for you to completely fail. And then when you make it, having the ‘hood on your shoulders to try to give back and bring people up to where you are. That’s a whole lot for an African American kid who is getting a lot of money and has no clue how to manage it. There’s a lot.

Glanville: Why don’t we unpack your reactions to George Floyd and his killing by the hands of the police. What was your first reaction, and what has changed over the last week?

Hunter: When I saw what happened the first day, the next day at 3 a.m. I just got out of bed and went into my office. I was sitting in my chair, looking out of the window and I just started to cry.

I have three sons. I’ve been talking to them my whole life, even as a player. Carry yourself this way. Be careful about this. If the cops pull you over, do this and do that. I shouldn’t have to feel that way. I shouldn’t have to tell my sons, every day when you go outside the house, be smart, be respectful, be quiet, don’t say much. I shouldn’t have to tell them that. No white family has to say that.

When you talk about white privilege, I had someone tell me, “My parents had to work. And they got everything they got by working.” I said, “That ain’t white privilege! That’s not what we’re talking about!” We’re talking about, you can drive down the street and police get behind you and you ain’t even worried about it. You can tell your kid, “Have a good day!” I can’t say that. I say, “Hey, this happened, this happened and this happened.” So they won’t get killed. They’ve got to come home and say, “Someone called me the n-word today at school.” What are you supposed to do?

What we have to do is come to a peaceful solution, build relationships with one another, be uncomfortable being uncomfortable. Come to my house. Let me go to your house. Let me get to know you, you get to know us. Let’s have a little dialogue about what we need to do for change. And you know what? It’s all about relationships. If we can get back to that, that’s what is going to change this.

Glanville: You’re talking about access, exposure. J-Roll, think about your first encounter learning about George Floyd. What was that like for you?

Rollins: It’s one of those things where it’s sad to say, you were kind of expecting him to be shot. We see black people get shot by the police all the time. We’re kind of used to that. But to see him sit there minute after minute after minute, you already have him cuffed. You want to keep him down? Put your hand on his back. Put your hand on his shoulder. As he tries to make a move, do something. But no, you literally sat there in defiance like, No, I’m going to do what I want to do. Like his life doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is, “He will listen when I tell him to do whatever it is I tell him to do.” He didn’t want to get in the car, so they say. So now, this is his consequence.

In the beginning, it was more shock. It was like, “This dude, he really just sat there on his neck.” And then, the next day, you think about it, I remember I was picking up some food, and like Torii, I just started crying. Just angry. What do you do? This man has no remorse. There was not one second it appeared he considered (stopping). It was kind of like, “I hear you, but I’m not going to do it. I don’t want to. I don’t have to do it. I’m protected by the badge. If he dies, he dies.” That was his attitude.

And that’s the part that really, really gets to you. How many other people, whether behind the badge or just in life, literally have the same feeling, think the same way? That if this person dies because I’m white and he’s black, and he didn’t listen to what I said, then I’m going to do what I want with him until I get his compliance? And if he dies, he dies.

I understand the frustration white people have with the rioting, the looting, the protesting. It all escalates. It starts as protest. Then police come around and it turns riotous. And then looting happens. But you can look at two men in the black community historically. You have Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Stood on different sides of the fence. And they both were assassinated fighting for the right thing. So, what is the right way to do it?

Ryan Howard: It’s kind of like what Jimmy said: This dude was just sitting on his neck. But what got me was, he’s telling you he can’t breathe. You haven’t learned from the past in the sense of what happened in Ferguson and other cities? This man is telling you. He’s on the ground. He’s handcuffed. You’ve got four or five different police officers right there. There’s no need for that. My man started crying out for his mother. At what point do you think this dude is a threat, when he’s calling for his mom?

It’s got to change. Listening to Torii’s and LaTroy’s stories about riding around with the police (following you), it was that same thing. When the police pull up behind you, you’re like, “Oh man, do I have all my stuff in order? Is my registration up to par? Do I even have it? Wait, let me make sure I get my wallet out so it’s not in a place where I have to ruffle to give this dude cause.”

It goes back to the whole white privilege thing, to where they cannot understand what it’s like to have to be in that situation. I actually had a situation in Philadelphia back in ’07, ’08. We had just gotten home from a road trip. It was like 3 or 4 in the morning. We’re leaving the park. I live downtown. I’m in my Escalade. I’ve got the big rims on it, 26-inch rims, windows tinted.

Everybody knows what the police car lights look like. I’m like, “OK, let me act right because this cop is right behind me. I’m going to try and let this dude pass. We pull up to the same light. He pulls up next to me. I’m going left. He’s going right. The light turns green, boom, my signal is on, I’m doing everything proper. I make my left turn. He sits there at the light. Two seconds later, boom, he makes the left and follows me. Pulls me over and asks for a license, registration, the whole nine yards. I said, “Officer, can you tell me what I was doing?” He said, “Well, I ran your plates and nothing came back.” I was like, “Isn’t that a good thing? I didn’t speed, didn’t run any lights. I wasn’t doing anything crazy, but you felt the need to pull me over.” Then another police officer pulled up, a black police officer. He went over to the dude and said, “You know who that is?” He came over and talked to me, the dude wound up leaving.

I said, “Look, man, if I’m breaking a law, I don’t care who I am, what I do, that don’t matter. If I’m running a light or not signaling and you pull me over, that’s fine. But when he tells me he pulled me over because he ran my tag and nothing came back what am I supposed to do?” The black officer said, “Yeah, that dude has done that a few times.” He ended up getting reprimanded by his superiors. But when you have people like that working in that capacity, what can you do?

Glanville: I’m in Connecticut. I work on the police council. We work on the curriculum for the state, for training, academies. There’s a policy side to this. What ends up happening with George Floyd or any other situation is that they compare this to what would a reasonable officer, given his or her training, do in that same situation? If the answer is the same thing, they have the power to put death on you, qualified immunity (a legal doctrine in U.S. federal law that shields government officials from being sued for discretionary actions performed within their official capacity). The training is part of it. Then there’s a cultural component of it: “I still have to believe in this. I have to have a spirit behind this that is driven by humanity, equality,” all the things we’re talking about.

I use this in my class: The First Amendment is 45 words. I can give you another amendment in another country that sounds exactly the same. It’s actually North Korea. You can say the things and have the words in place. But the key is how you actually live by it.

I was compelled by what Torii was saying: I’m telling my kids to do all these right things, but I still can’t guarantee the outcome of what should happen when you do the right things, as Ryan just spoke to. So just pivoting to LaTroy. I remember when we talked way back for an interview for ESPN, you told me about what you did when you first moved into your town. You said you went to the police and introduced yourself.

Hawkins: Every city I played in, I always immersed myself into the police department just so they could see my face, get to know me and what type of person I am and understand that I am not a threat. I did that here in Prosper (). I had the guys come over, asked them who their favorite baseball players were. Nolan Ryan? Well, I’ve got a Nolan Ryan ball, here you go. I did the same thing with the fire department, just so they understood that I’m not a threat. I’m on your side. I understand you’ve got a very tough job to do. Every day.

I’ve got a cousin who is a police chief in Indianapolis. I’ve got nephews who are police officers. I understand. I just make sure the police know who I am, make sure they know who my wife is, who my daughter is so when she’s out driving they can be like, “OK, that’s LaTroy’s daughter.” Just to be on the safe side. I don’t think anybody else of any other color does that. And I do it for my own safety and the safety of my family.

Hunter: LaTroy and I actually raise money for police officers here in Prosper and Celina. Every year we have a poker tournament. We go out there, we have myself, Matt Kemp, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, . We come out there and we have a good time and they’re like, “Wow, you guys are fun.” It’s been three or four years now. We’ve built relationships with them. Love requires relationships. If you don’t love us, that means you don’t know us, or we don’t know you. That’s where we need to get to. That’s the point.

Doug was talking about my experience with law enforcement in Newport Coast, in Crystal Cove, California. Man, it was the worst thing I’ve ever seen, period. I’m thinking, “I’m comfortable.” And I shouldn’t have been comfortable. But I’m driving in Newport Coast, going to my house, like la- la-la.

Willis: You got that wake-up call.

Hunter: I got that wake-up call quick. I went into my place, the alarm went off for a second and I cut it off. Maybe an hour later, I see cops at my door. I open my door and say, “Is everything OK?” And they said, “Freeze!” With the guns out. You know you’re coming to Torii Hunter’s house. You already know that!

The young guy had his gun down, but the older guy had his gun, and a vein popped out of his neck. I’m on one leg. He said, “Sit the f— down!” I said, “Hey man, this is my house, calm down.” And the young guy is looking at me like, “I think I know this guy.” The other guy still had the gun. And he says, “Is anybody else in the house?” I said, “No one else is in the house. This is my house.” I didn’t say nothing about baseball. And he walked me into the house with the gun in my back, to go upstairs to get my license. And when I showed him my license, the younger guy said, “I knew that was you.” And the guy said, “Who is he?” And he said, “He plays with the Angels.” Then this guy who had the gun on me says, “Oh, I’m an Angels fan. Can you leave me tickets?”

Willis: You’re lying, Torii. I’m taking my Torii Hunter jersey off the wall because you’re lying to me.

Ken Rosenthal: Torii, when this happened, you didn’t make a big deal out of it at the time. You talked about it, but you kind of had to play it cool.

Hunter: I put it out there (in the media). I said, “This guy didn’t believe I lived here.” I was trying to be strategic about what I was saying. But I wanted them to know. Then I called Major League Baseball. They called, I don’t know, whoever. And the Newport Coast police called and apologized.

I didn’t want to make a big scene. My agent said don’t make a big scene. My front office with the Angels said don’t make a big scene. But it should have been a big scene! I didn’t have no video. Everything is on video now. If I would have gotten shot, they would have come up with something and said I was agitating, angry. They can say anything, and guess what? I would have been dead. Because you thought I didn’t live there. Your mind went straight to criminal. Willis: When I saw the video (of George Floyd), I was truly just disgusted with human life. I know I’m seeing another black man, someone who looks like me on the ground, and it’s a damn shame that I’m used to seeing that. That’s the first problem. Every other week, we’re seeing one of our black brothers or sisters gunned down, hunted down, on social media. I’m sad to say, I was f—— comfortable with watching that video when I saw it. And I feel bad that I felt comfortable.

The disregard for human life as that man’s knee was in the back of his head and hearing that grown man call for his mother was truly disgusting. Listening to all of your stories, it’s just the lack of respect. You don’t have to like me. We’re Americans. We have a God-given right not to like each other. But just the respect for human life.

People are sick and tired. I’m hearing a lot of people talk about the looting. You’re saying, “This is our community. Why tear it up?” But you’re not policing us like it’s our community. So why the hell do we care if you’re not policing us and giving us common respect when you come and police us? That’s the real problem. I love that LaTroy and Torii are going out there and having a relationship, showing your human side, with law enforcement. Law enforcement is not an easy job.

I’m just disgusted with it. I’m tired of seeing this on my social media. I thought I was going to be able to shield my kids from it. But I’m not going to shield them anymore. I’m going to be very honest and candid with them because I want to protect them.

Hunter: I know complaining keeps us stuck. We’ve got to find solutions. Us as African Americans, but also as Americans. We’ve got to come together and say, “What’s the solution?” Leadership has to come together. We’ve got a black America, an Asian America, a white America. That’s divided. And a house divided shall fall. Republican, Democrat, we’re going to fall every time.

Let me tell you something about baseball players. People from the Dominican, Venezuela, Asia, white, black, they come together and you know why they play together? Because they’ve got a common goal: We’ve got to win the World Series. And guess what: Whites, blacks, Asian, everyone says, “Let’s go, let’s do what we have to do.”

America has no goal. We have nothing we’re trying to reach. That’s why we’re all over the place.

Willis: I’ve got a question for y’all. I’ve asked black people and white people this. You had a problem with us kneeling. You have a problem with us hash-tagging. You have a problem with us speaking out. You have a problem with all these social platforms that are non-violent. Now you have a problem with looting. Well, what the f—. What’s the answer? What’s the honest platform we can have? You black-balled (Colin) Kaepernick for kneeling for the same things we’re talking about now. It just seems like a no-win.

Hawkins: They don’t want us to use our platform. They don’t want to hear us speak.

Hunter: “Shut up and play.”

Hawkins: One thing they know about our people. We cannot, and we haven’t shown, that we can collectively get together. We separate every time. And they know that.

My grandfather told me, “Slavery taught us how to survive. Slavery didn’t teach us how to live.” We’ve survived all these years. That’s all we’ve done — just survive. Every man for himself. We don’t have that cohesiveness we need to take that next step. What do they want us to do? They want us to be quiet. And they know once the going gets tough, we’re going to separate and divide.

If we can stand side by side, African Americans, minorities and our Caucasian brothers and sisters, that’s when the needle can be moved in the right direction. But there’s a lot of things we don’t do. We don’t get out to the polls and vote. You don’t like that prosecutor, like (rapper) Killer Mike was saying (in Atlanta), get out and vote him out. Get out there and do it. You cannot have a voice and not use it.

Go back to George Floyd. My daughter told me about it. She sent me the link. I didn’t finish looking at the link. I was like, “That’s messed up, what (the officer) did.” And she said, “He died.” I was like, “No, he didn’t.” And when I looked at it again, I got sick to my stomach. I had German Shepherds. I know how you control the dog. You grab him by the neck. At that moment, that’s what he did to George Floyd. He showed him that you’re not supposed to speak, not supposed to rebut what I’m saying. You’re supposed to lay down and be submissive and shut up.

Glanville: LaTroy, part of that lack of cohesion is by design. You talk about voting. There’s voting suppression, all these efforts. We just talked about not speaking out while you’re a current player. That’s notable in and of itself. You’re at the top of your craft. You’ve made a ton of money. But you feel that risk. Not just in the clubhouse, as Jimmy pointed out so well, but it’s also the consequences, especially now. Backlash, sponsorships, whatever. You see with Kaepernick, you might not ever play your sport again.

But the other side of silence, when there’s power to do something, is the complicity, the fact you’re just endorsing the status quo. The status quo rewards people who have power already. If you already have power, why are you going to change it?

You mentioned with law enforcement, having these experiences. I had positive experiences growing up, because they were my volunteer coaches, the police officers in my hometown. I’d love to hear from you guys about law enforcement within your teams, the security, how law enforcement and baseball actually have a very interesting rhythm to each other. We get the same kinds of elements — the code. You don’t speak. What can you tell us about that experience when you were playing?

Hunter: All the law enforcement we had in baseball my whole career is only because they knew us. They knew what kind of people we were. It was easy to have a relationship with them. I had a great relationship with them because I knew who they were, and they knew who I am. It won’t be the same for someone with my skin color who was out in the street. We cracked jokes with them. We felt comfortable being around them. But when we go outside that, because we didn’t have a relationship with anybody like that and they didn’t know us, we felt threatened.

Rollins: Maybe it’s just being black, but it’s always in the back of your mind: “This (police) dude is cool. He helps me to my car. He makes sure we get on the bus. But if I wasn’t in this clubhouse, and I was on the street, and he got called to a situation, would I get the same treatment?”

Would it be, “I know this is Jimmy, let me try to diffuse the situation.” Or is it he’s a police officer, he’s doing his job, does he even recognize me?

The first thing he’s going to see is a black person. It could be broad daylight. It could be the middle of the night. We have these relationships (with police) — we get to talk to them, they see us in uniform, obviously there’s a celebrity factor. But as soon as you take that uniform off, at least for me, it was always in the back of my head: “Would I get the same treatment if this dude pulled me over?”

Glanville: Maybe you guys can speak to this. The degrees of separation from George Floyd is basically zero.

Willis: I saw myself in him.

Glanville: Speak to that. That’s kind of what we’re talking about. That was me on the ground — that was me. All of us here did pretty well. Made some money, won some World Series, got some MVPs, we’ve got it all — All-Stars, you guys are an incredible group. We have a community of this shared experience. But there is also this lumping together where we don’t have this luxury of individuality and get that benefit of the doubt. Why are you George Floyd also?

Willis: I feel like I’m George Floyd because every case we’ve heard, from Trayvon Martin to George, they were doing normal stuff. They were walking down the street eating Skittles. They were doing things that were normal. A guy selling tapes or DVDs on the side of the road. We’ve seen that everywhere. That’s where you connect with that person. We saw people getting arrested and getting attacked in normal, everyday, broad daylight streets.

That’s where the connection for me is. It’s like, “Man, I can be walking with my daughters and get hemmed up.” I’ve been pulled over with my daughters and really yelled at them not to say anything out of fear for my life and their lives. That’s where the disconnect comes. Now you don’t feel like a human. You don’t feel like a man. You feel less than. That’s a feeling no one wants to feel. I don’t care if you’re black or white. You don’t want to feel less than.

As a culture, as a people, we’re tired of feeling less than. That is the problem right there. Treat us with the same appreciation and respect. Hell, scratch appreciation. Just give me some respect.

Hawkins: That zero degrees of separation, if you’re an African American man, and you don’t see yourself in that position — you don’t see your brother, your cousins, your nephews — I don’t know what you’re seeing. It can happen to you in a split second. If you encounter the wrong police officer, it can go bad real quick.

I know all the guys on this call, we completely understand that. We now have conflict resolution. We know how to de-escalate because we’ve gotten older. But what about our brothers who are still in the inner city, our cousins? Everything is a disrespect, a threat to them. Their only conflict resolution is to get aggressive.

(Relatives) say, “You can’t get caught up like that, because you’re going to talk your way out of it.” I’m like, “I’ve learned conflict resolution. I’ve definitely learned I would not match an attitude with attitude. Should I have to be like that because of the color of my skin? No. But I do know I have survival skills. And I know what I need to do to survive that encounter to see another day.

Willis (laughing): We ain’t throwing sliders no more, so we’ve got to figure it out. “You ain’t struck out nobody in a decade, D-Train, that card ain’t working no more.”

Hawkins: I know my brothers in the inner city don’t have conflict resolution. That’s them laying on that ground, them screaming for their mother who has been dead for two years. That’s people that we know, who are close to us, our family. I don’t know George Floyd, but damn he looked like my uncle. Damn he looked like my brother. Damn he looked like my cousin.

Hunter: I was telling you guys earlier I was up at 3 in the morning crying. That was one of the reasons why. I saw my six brothers. I saw my three sons. I saw myself. I saw a whole slew of people I grew up with that knee in the back of his neck, saying he can’t breathe and screaming for his mother who passed away two years ago.

My son a couple of weeks ago said, “Dad, every time I go jogging in this neighborhood, everybody is looking at me.” What he does, he’ll take his son with him, so people can see he’s a father. He shouldn’t have to live like that. This is 2020. That’s what I did when I was younger. Why does he have to go through that? That’s why I was crying. I saw all my family members and all my friends, all my teammates I’ve ever had, under there.

Now let’s talk about another thing. It’s a humanity thing. White people should see their sons, and their cousins and their daughters. You should see this is a human being, period. I don’t want my kid to ever go through that. That’s why I speak out. Really, I don’t care what you say. I’m telling you a truth. I’m telling you my truth. Then you knock my truth. Martin Luther King did it peacefully, and you still killed him. Malcolm X was violent. And you still killed him. Howard: The looting and the rioting is just ignorance. It takes away from the real issue at hand. You see yourself in George Floyd. On any given day if you run into the wrong cop who is feeling some kind of way, that’s you. But the way I see it, we keep asking the question, “How do we get change?” We can talk all we want. But change doesn’t come until those other (white) folks want change to come. And the only way that comes is when you’ve been affected by it. They have not been affected by it.

(They’ll say), “That’s bad, man, that’s terrible.” But until it really hits home. … You go back. You’ve got Rodney King. You’ve got George Floyd. You’ve got Ahmaud Arbery. We’ve got footage. These cats are on tape. They’ve got tape of police officers beating Rodney King, tape of two white guys in Georgia rolling down the streets with the shotguns and then killing this man jogging in the neighborhood. You have video footage of a police officer on this man’s neck in the middle of the street. All of this footage, and it’s like, “Oh my goodness, that’s so bad.”

And then you go back and do the whole O.J. (Simpson) thing, when O.J. was acquitted. It was like, White America got a dose of what it was like being black. It was like, “Oh my God, this is terrible, how could they let this happen?” You got a small feel of what it was like being black and having to live in America and having these situations take place. Until it affects you, there’s no real need for a change. “That’s a terrible thing that happened to that black guy.” But until it actually hits home, it doesn’t have an effect.

Willis: Doug, I’ve got a question for you. You said you grew up with law enforcement. I thought all police stations had a division that oversaw crimes like this, like, internal affairs — a group of people who policed the police, or someone from the community that you trust who was also on the board to review these types of things. Each time you’re seeing a case, the (officers) are looking more chill and more casual like nothing is going to happen to them. I’m just shocked by that.

Glanville: That’s a great point. Departments have internal affairs, if you have to investigate the police. State by state, it depends. In Connecticut, we have what we call the POST Council — the Police Officers Standards and Training Council. We’re one of the only ones in the country that has civilians on the council, and I’m one of the council members. We (do) training, curriculum, accreditation, legislation, things like that. I think it’s pretty effective, actually.

There’s no question about (the importance) of listening to the public, having voices at the table. As Torii was talking about earlier, if you’re not in the room and you’re not having representation, how does anything change?

With law enforcement, it’s no different. You have to have that representation. But then you have to have power, and a voice. I always call it color by numbers. You can make a board with color. But if you don’t give them power, then you’re just going to reinforce the same poor culture.

That’s one of the questions I pose to you: What do you think needs to be done? What do you think needs to be different? How would you approach it?

Willis: I think true conversation. People take stances before they even hear the question. Have enough respect and decency to listen. Right now, and this is why you see all the looting, people don’t even want to be speaking anymore. We’re tired of this. I don’t think it’s the best way. I agree with Ryno. It puts a lot of pressure and kind of takes away from what the real issue is. But at the same time, people are sick and tired. They tried to have this discussion with people of different backgrounds, different colors. And it seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Hawkins: Doug, I’ve got to applaud your police department in Connecticut. They have citizens on the board, in the room. You come in with a completely different mindset. If police force had civilians in the room — blacks, whites, Mexicans, everybody — they would have to change some of the law and policies. We get into excessive sentencing — sentencing that is greater than what you would have given a Caucasian person. We can go down a whole other line about the laws that need to be changed — the laws that take African American men, take them out of their homes, leave their kids to get made fun of for growing up with no fathers.

Willis: And you have to have police neighborhoods with police who are from the neighborhood, who have a pulse and feel for what is going on.

Hawkins: How tough is that, Dontrelle, when we grew up not liking the police? When you grow up not having a pleasant experience with police, you don’t want to be police.

Willis: That’s why when I’m watching these videos and I see my skin color in law enforcement, my heart bleeds for them, too. They’re trying to do their jobs. There are a lot of videos right now coming out of black men standing on the front line (of police) trying to calm people down. “I’ve got kids. I want to get home. I’m just trying to do my job. I want to keep you safe and I want to keep myself safe.” Kudos to those guys who are on the front lines right now. Bravo, we need more men like them. But you’re damn sure right. I didn’t want to be a cop growing up. I think we just need more people from the community to police our community so everyone can live as one.

Rollins: In our community, we fear ourselves anyway. It’s not like only whites and others are taught to fear us. We’re taught to fear us. You’ve got to watch out for this cat, you know what I’m saying. One of my homeboys growing up, his dad was a police officer. Big William. I remember growing up, my perception of him was, Why do you want to be a police officer? You know all the people in the neighborhood. You’re going to be the one arresting ’em. You know who to go get. Why are you going to go snitch? That was the mentality.

But racism isn’t just black versus others, Mexicans versus others, whites versus everybody. It’s systematic. If we don’t break the chain ourselves, how can we expect others to do so first? Although they may be the ones who, in our eyes, perpetuate it in movies, and the way we’re perceived on TV, all the bad stories. If we change one person and start that line, that will help. But if we’re not willing, after this is over, to go back and culturally make a change, it’s just going to repeat itself. If you look at the track record, it’s going to continue to happen. Hunter: I was thinking about us being out of chains. But there’s a chain in our brain that hasn’t been unlocked yet. If we renew our minds, things will change. I like that we’re filming everything. That’s a step, that everything is getting filmed. But Albert Einstein said, the world will not be destroyed by people who do evil. It will be destroyed by people that don’t do anything about it. They just sit there and watch it.

I remember Michael Todd, he’s a pastor who said, “It won’t take organizations to make a change. It’s going to take organisms,” meaning us, people. Those cops who were there when George Floyd’s neck was on the ground, with that cop’s knee on his neck, those (other) cops have got to say, “Ease up. Get off him.” You’ve got to hold them accountable. Because if I was with Dontrelle and LaTroy and Dontrelle wants to go off on somebody, if I don’t say, “Dontrelle, ease up,” and he ends up hurting him or killing him, then guess what? I go to jail because I’m an accomplice. If we can get cops to be accountable for one another, just like we are in the clubhouse, I think that changes things, too.

Willis: When Ken hit me about this story, when he initially texted me, my first reaction — and I’m embarrassed to say this — was, “Man, I don’t know if I want to touch that.” Right when I heard it, you guys read texts all the time where you’re like, “I don’t know…” I work at Fox Sports. I’ve got a good thing over there. You see the Emmy over here on my shoulder. It was one of those things where I didn’t want to put myself in a situation. I thought about it for a second, like “Man, you better speak on that. This is what we need you to do. Shame on you for not wanting to speak on that. You’d better address that and use that platform.”

You guys are absolutely right. I wrote it down: “I need to talk to some cops.” I’m going to be easy about it. It’s almost like going up to a tiger like, easy, man. I just want to get some dialogue with you, some banter back and forth about where your head’s at. But I think a lot of us need to do more of that, have a conversation with law enforcement, to make them feel, not at ease because it’s a tough job, but just to get the mindset of each other. Discussion is definitely from the ground up.

Glanville: I got on the police council from an experience that I had. I used to live in Hartford, Conn. We were on the border of this town, West Hartford. Hartford is a city, black and brown majority, a lot of poverty. West Hartford is sort of this elite suburb. Different. Night and day. And we happened to live right on the border, on the Hartford side of the city.

One day I’m out there shoveling. We had a bunch of snow days in a row. I was like, “I’m getting this minivan out of my driveway. These kids have got to get to school. They’ve been home for four days.” It’s like the middle of the day, freezing, like negative-1. I look up, and there’s an officer. I’m looking at the car and I saw that it said West Hartford, not Hartford. They’re two different towns. I was like, “Why is a West Hartford officer parked across the street? That’s strange.”

And then he starts coming toward me. I kind of stand up with my shovel. I expect, “Hey, I’m lost.” I didn’t know what to expect. It wasn’t anything that ended up coming out of his mouth. But the first and only thing he said was, “So, you’re trying to make some money shoveling people’s driveways around here?” That was the first question. And I was like, “What?”

It was a moment where I said, “My reaction matters. Everything is hinging on how I react. If I take the shovel and pick it up.” It’s amazing. I got buried in a local editorial that said I was overreacting because I didn’t end up getting shot. But when I talked to the guy, I kind of said, “This is my house. I’m in my driveway.” The guy eventually was like, “Happy shoveling.” But there was no introduction, no nothing.

The thing that was so educational about it was, I realized then that it wasn’t about me going to the West Hartford P.D. or the Hartford P.D. It was about me finding out that this police council was the one that actually called the shots on how policing is done in this state. It took me 18 months, and I had all the access and privilege of anybody. But that’s what I learned. The access to the process is so difficult for even someone who has access. My wife is an attorney, the whole nine yards. So it took me a while. But it ended up being a constructive lesson.

You talk about change. Martin Luther King used to say, “You need the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) to be on the streets. But you need the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) to be in the courtroom.” There’s slow work and there’s sort of the in your face, this is unacceptable, I’ve got to remind you about this. You’ve got to keep the pressure on. But you also need the slow work.

When you talk about change, you think about the next generation, you think about the future. I was a systems engineering major in college. We used to talk about the system as it is, the system as it will be if nothing changes and the system as it should be — that’s where we want to be. I guess I pose to you, where do you want to be? If you could pick your own world and could draw it when it comes to race and America, what would you draw?

Willis: For me, it’s simple. When I see law enforcement behind me, I want to live in a world where my heart doesn’t race. That would be a telling point: When I see law enforcement, my heart doesn’t race and I truly feel protected and served in my community.

Hawkins: The world I want to live in, I want to see the same resources put into the African American minority communities in the school systems, so we can have a chance to be successful in this very difficult world. Our schools in Gary, Ind., are crumbling to the ground. You drive six miles away and the schools are brand new. My high school is 50-plus years old. I want to see money funneled to the inner city for education. Without education, it’s going to be a tough road forever for African Americans and minorities.

Hunter: I would like to see all of us equal. Give me an equal share. Put me on a line where I can race you. Don’t let me grow up in a negative.

It’s going to take us. We’ve got to take responsibility and ownership of our own selves first. If I feel like all the time, “My mama owes me. My daddy wasn’t around, he owes me,” I’m going to grow up angry. I feel like all our people feel like, America owes us and we haven’t been paid that debt. But they’re not going to pay that debt back. We’ve got to cancel that debt, come together and feel this thing out. Let me tell you something powerful about Harriet Tubman. She went and prayed and God gave her a message: Build an underground tunnel. And she did, quietly. We talk too much. But if we do something underground and build it back up, then things will change for us as African Americans.

Rollins: I would like to see pure opportunity. Put me in position to show you I’m smart enough, that we’re smart enough. Let me bring up other people. Opportunity and education is great. But that big table, that’s where we need to be. They will give us opportunity to move around, snake around, get to a certain level. But then it’s cut off. That’s it. You’re not going to get higher than that. Put us at the top of the top. Put us in that 1 percent and let us try to do it.

We did it once. We had Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Okla. We were getting too wealthy. They came and burned that down. (On May 31 and June 1, 1921, mobs of white residents attacked black residents and businesses of the Greenwood District in Tulsa in what has been called the single worst incident of racial violence in American history). If they actually let us show what we can do, we’ll be equal. And they will see that. But they will never let us be more than three-fifths of a man, period. Point blank.

Howard: It’s showing what we can do, but at the same time, they’re going to cap that. They already know what we’re capable of doing. Back to the origins of Africa, black men and women were kings and queens. To be brought here and be made less than … that’s the first thing. It’s understanding who we are and where we came from as people, what type of people we are. We are kings and queens.

That being said, everybody can be a king and a queen — white, black, Asian, whatever have you. The way I see it is, I just want to be able to walk around and be an American. It’s like ‘Trelle said, driving your car and the police are there and you’re not worried about that. You’re not trying to fumble through or feeling nervous. It’s just being able to go about your everyday, have your kids go about their everyday and not have to worry about them having to go through it. Just to be seen, not just as an African American, but as an American. That’s the biggest thing.

Yes, everyone comes from different places. But here, we’re all supposed to be Americans, first and foremost. That’s what it’s all about.

We talk about the baseball mentality. Puerto Rican, Dominican, Venezuelan, Asian, Korean … when we’re all in that clubhouse, it’s a family. And that’s what America is supposed to be. This is supposed to be the melting pot, supposed to be the family.

It’s so saddening and so heartbreaking to see where we are right now. My parents grew up in the south, in Birmingham, Ala. Moms and Pops were right in the middle of it, all the segregation and everything that took place. To be going through this right now where down the street, here in Atlanta, people down there are acting stupid. Philadelphia, people down there are acting stupid. It’s just saddening to be where we are in 2020, looking at my kids and having to explain to them what’s going on in the world, saying, “Look, you guys can be the people who can kind of help change this, who can turn this whole thing around and make America America and not have it be as segregated. Be true Americans.” That’s what it all comes down to.

ESPN

MLB prospects to watch from each team's 60-man pool

With Major League Baseball scheduled to open camps for "spring training 2.0" in the coming days, teams had to submit their initial 60-man player pools Sunday. Players still can be added with many teams listing fewer than 60 names, but this at least gives us a glimpse of whom we'll see when the players finally hit the diamond.

Many of the game's top prospects, Rays phenom Wander Franco chief among them, will be in camp, although there's no guarantee they'll see any big league action this season. With the minor leagues shut down, these camps will provide the best opportunity for development for many players.

Players must be in their team's 60-man pool to be eligible to play for the major league club this season. The pool can change throughout the season through standard transactions, such as waiver claims, free-agent signings and trades. A 30-man roster will be set for the start of the season, with the remaining players continuing to train at an alternate site. Roster size will be reduced to 28 two weeks into the season, then to 26 two weeks after that.

Borrowing liberally from the work of ESPN MLB prospect expert Kiley McDaniel, here's a look at some of the notable prospects on each team's initial 60-man pool, with teams grouped by division. We'll update this story as more teams release their lists.

AL East

Baltimore Orioles

Outfielder Austin Hays was solid in a call-up last season and has a chance to contribute if his health issues are behind him. Catcher (No. 3 on McDaniel's top 100) isn't big league ready and isn't on the Orioles' initial list, but they have room to add to it.

Boston Red Sox Powerful should have a shot at making at least the early roster. Also noteworthy: Connor Wong, the lesser prospect who came over in the Mookie Betts deal, is on the initial list, but Jeter Downs, the bigger prospect in the Betts trade, is not.

New York Yankees

Righties Deivi Garcia (No. 45 on McDaniel's top 100) and (No. 82) both could be useful arms for New York.

Tampa Bay Rays

Wander Franco, the phenom who is the consensus top prospect in the game, won't necessarily make his debut this season -- it would be a big leap from -- but he'll get a good look and create a lot of buzz at camp.

Toronto Blue Jays

Fireballing righty , No. 6 on McDaniel's list, is the biggest name and could make an impact this season, but infielder (No. 68) should be fun to watch in camp, too. , the fifth pick in the 2020 draft, remains unsigned.

AL Central

Cleveland Indians

Nolan Jones (No. 22 on McDaniel's top 100) is the Tribe's top prospect, with intriguing Bo Naylor a potential everyday catcher.

Detroit Tigers

We knew Detroit's young pitchers -- and leading the way -- would be here as they're knocking on the big league door. Adding to the fun are catcher Dillon Dingler, part of the Tigers' 2020 draft class, plus , their first-round pick in 2019. , the No. 1 overall pick in 2020, could be added once he signs.

Kansas City Royals

Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., the No. 2 pick in the 2019 draft, will get a chance to develop here, though he's not ready for the bigs yet.

AL West

Houston Astros

Righty has been tantalizing with his talent, but he still hasn't pulled it together. His ceiling remains high.

Los Angeles Angels

Jo Adell (McDaniel's No. 10 prospect and just 21 years old) was expected to make his big league debut this season; time will tell if the 60-game format changes that.

Oakland Athletics

Keep an eye on Robert Puason, a huge international talent who drew scouts' attention when he was 13 and would have made his pro debut this year. He flashed above-average-to-plus tools across the board, according to McDaniel.

Seattle Mariners

The Mariners are bringing all their top prospects to the party, including 19-year-old Julio Rodriguez (No. 9 on the top 100) and fellow outfielder (No. 12), as well as four of their 2020 draft picks, first-rounder among them.

Texas Rangers

Second baseman Nick Solak and third baseman , both big hitters, are the players to watch.

NL East

Atlanta Braves

The Braves have a lot of young prospect talent on their initial list, with outfielder Cristian Pache (McDaniel's No. 17 prospect) the headliner.

Miami Marlins

The Marlins, as one would expect, have all their top prospects coming to camp, including shortstop Jazz Chisholm (No. 37 on McDaniel's top 100), right-handers Sixto Sanchez and Edward Cabrera, and outfielder JJ Bleday.

David Peterson, a 6-foot-6 lefty who works with a solid average four-pitch mix and above-average command, has a good shot to see some big league action.

Philadelphia Phillies

Alec Bohm, the No. 3 overall pick in 2018, has a ton of raw power and is worth keeping an eye on.

Washington Nationals

Jackson Rutledge will be fun to see; the right-hander is 6-foot-8 and can hit 100 mph with a very good -- if he can pull it all together.

NL Central

Chicago Cubs

Catcher Miguel Amaya and outfielder Brennen Davis aren't ready for the bigs, but both have some pop and already are top-100 material.

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds will have four players in McDaniel's top 100 in camp -- catcher Tyler Stephenson, shortstop Jose Garcia, lefty and third baseman .

Pittsburgh Pirates

One scout told McDaniel that 6-foot-7 Oneil Cruz looked like a "left-handed[-hitting] Aaron Judge playing shortstop." Cruz might not stay at short, but he's a talent. As McDaniel wrote, "Cruz is fun and exciting and good for baseball -- and he hasn't failed yet."

St. Louis Cardinals

Top prospect (McDaniel's No. 28 prospect) could be ready to contribute after a breakout 2019 in -A and -A.

NL West

Colorado Rockies

Brendan Rodgers, who played 25 games with Colorado last year before hurting his shoulder, is the Rockies' top prospect.

Los Angeles Dodgers

There has been buzz that Josiah Gray could be the best pitcher in the Dodgers' system -- and that's saying something.

San Diego Padres

The Padres have a boatload of talented prospects and are bringing many of them to camp, including pitchers MacKenzie Gore (No. 8 of McDaniel's list) and Luis Patino (No. 11).

Inside MLB's 2020 season plan to play through a pandemic -- and where it could go wrong

By Jeff Passan

Ten days ago, as Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association continued haggling over finances in return-to-play discussions, one official said the whole thing felt like "Game of Thrones." All this fighting over money and power when the real hazard for the 2020 MLB season -- the existential threat -- loomed elsewhere.

"The COVID 'white walkers' are real," he said.

With less than a week before players report to training camps in anticipation of a season set to begin July 23 or 24, baseball is grappling with the difficulty of playing a season in the midst of a global pandemic. Calling the task daunting does not do it service. The pervasiveness of the coronavirus, the spike in cases over recent weeks, the city-to-city travel by teams and the lack of rules explicitly limiting off-field movement of players and employees introduce a harsh truth about the game's resumption:

There are going to be COVID-19 cases throughout MLB. The PGA Tour is finding out the hard way that even in the most socially distanced sport, the virus' ubiquity is undefeated. It's a reality with which MLB and players are willing to live -- until they're not. The parties' 101-page operations manual for 2020 does not address with any specificity how a season would proceed in the event of a coronavirus outbreak within a team.

While the processes in place to handle individual positive cases are dutiful and will be reinforced with even more specificity by each team, the language regarding the actions the sport would take with a deluge of cases is general and vague.

The answers to those hypotheticals would come in the moment. It's important to understand that baseball does not exist in a vacuum. The sport's reopening will add tens of thousands of interactions, each carrying a level of hazard, every day. The risk for individual players, because of their age and general health, is minimal but still very real. The risk for older employees -- managers, coaches, training staff -- is far more palpable. The risk for the sport is, quite literally, immeasurable.

There are countless questions about how baseball will -- or whether it can -- subsist for the next four months. Here are 20 of the most pertinent:

How many players are going to test positive next week upon the intake screening before training camps open?

League personnel, team officials and players are readying for a deluge of positives -- both in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing that detects whether a person currently has COVID-19 and the antibody testing that identifies past infection.

Nearly 1,800 players are expected to report to camps. A large number live in Arizona, Florida, Texas and California, four states with recent spikes. Others are flying in from countries around the world. To think that baseball will somehow be immune -- that it differs demonstrably from the general population -- would be naive.

At the screening, players will submit saliva for the PCR test and blood for the antibody test. COVID-positive players could number 25, 50, 100, more. Those who do test positive via the PCR test will immediately isolate until they fulfill certain measures:

Two negative COVID-19 tests, taken at least 24 hours apart

No fever for at least 72 hours (while not using fever-suppressing medicine) and no respiratory symptoms, as judged by a doctor or team medical staff

Team physician and a joint committee consisting of two doctors and one non-medical representative from MLB and the MLBPA deem that the person does not pose a risk of spreading infection

Other potential snags exist. Individuals must satisfy local health requirements. Team doctors can ask for a cardiac evaluation. Contact tracing for the positive individual will take place. Those who have been in his or her presence must self-isolate until a negative result on a COVID test is returned. They'll undergo more frequent temperature testing for 10 days and cannot return unless they're asymptomatic.

That's a lot.

It's just the start. And it has to be if baseball is played in 2020.

Then why play?

That's not an unreasonable question. The answer is that players say they want to, owners say they want to, federal officials want them to and local health officials have yet to say they can't. There was a very simple binary at hand: season or no season. Baseball chose season.

Everyone involved recognizes that baseball in 2020 -- sports in 2020 -- is a house of cards. All it takes is one municipality to threaten the entire endeavor. Yes, MLB has the ability to move games. Say a governor locks down a state. A team scheduled to host games could theoretically move to a backup location. But what if that happens to two teams? Or three? Or five? At some point, the churn could become too overwhelming to continue.

As one executive put it: "Baseball that makes people sick is not baseball."

So this could go completely sideways?

Oh, absolutely. And if the above scenario happens, the March agreement between the players and owners gives commissioner Rob Manfred broad powers to scuttle the season.

On Tuesday, when the league and union were finalizing the health-and-safety protocol, there was a slight holdup over language about Manfred's ability to steer a season. Already the March agreement addressed Manfred's "right to suspend or cancel games." The language in question, according to a copy obtained by ESPN, said that Manfred can do so if "the number of players who are unavailable to perform services due to COVID-19 is so great that the competitive integrity of the season is undermined."

The general wording offers Manfred a wide berth -- which makes sense because as commissioner he already wields the best-interests-of-baseball clause. The players, skeptical after months of negotiations had turned ugly, were reticent about rubber-stamping Manfred's unilateral ability to cancel a season when doing so would immediately end their ability to get paid. Eventually, the players agreed, paving the way for the season's return.

Worth noting: MLB is proceeding with training camps on the heels of seven players and five employees testing positive for COVID-19. Teams have publicly acknowledged at least a dozen other positive cases. At the very least, it sets a baseline to illustrate what the league will accept.

Then what constitutes the undermining of competitive integrity?

The answer may fall first on the teams. The operations manual places a significant amount of the onus on organizations: outfitting their stadiums to abide by social distancing mandates, figuring out logistics in case of positive tests at home and on the road, arranging travel that adheres to the strict rules and, perhaps most important, making the value judgment of when this nebulous notion of competitive integrity is breached.

"We haven't figured this out," one general manager said this week, and he is not alone. Does a team that has three positive tests, but all of them are starting pitchers, plead undermined competitive integrity and move to shut down? Probably not. But what if their intake testing returns positive and they need to spend the first two weeks of training camp quarantined and they aren't ready for the first two weeks of a season that goes only nine?

Or perhaps there are more positives. Five? Seven? Ten? Five positives and 10 others exposed and needing to quarantine? How many is too many?

There is no set number in the operations manual. The system's fail-safe key relies on judgment. That scares a lot of people -- not just players, either -- who fear that playing invites moral hazard. Will MLB, wary of shutting down after spending so much time and effort starting, not act decisively? Will owners, frightened by the damage it does to their businesses in the short and long term, push to play? Will players, who bear the risk, get an equal voice in the matter?

Go even more granular: What if there is a rash of positive tests ... but only one of the cases is symptomatic? The intake testing could offer a general answer to that question, with most of the positives likely to be asymptomatic.

What happens if someone is hospitalized?

The operations manual doesn't answer that, either. It's one thing to have asymptomatic players or even those with flu-like symptoms. Hospitalization is an entirely different situation -- and the league's reaction to that hypothetical scenario, one player said, might not necessarily be consistent.

"If it's a utility guy nobody knows about, is that going to shut the season down? Probably not," he said. "If it's Mike Trout or someone big on the Yankees? It might."

Most teams are gathering at home stadiums for training camp. They'll start traveling regularly in less than a month. Is this the best way to do it?

There is no good way. That's life with a highly communicable disease in a nation that bungled the response and can't seem to do what almost every other country around the world has. Even if MLB and the players are perfect, it might not be enough. And they won't be perfect.

Just think: The two other plans with the most traction MLB considered were a 30-team bubble in Arizona or using hub cities in Arizona, Texas and Florida. Either option would look disastrous right now. The coronavirus makes planning almost impossible, which makes preparation and flexibility that much more paramount.

And that falls explicitly on Rob Manfred. This is his biggest leadership test. He has proven himself a canny negotiator and has made billions of dollars for owners. Mastering the public-facing elements of the job has proven more elusive. The sign-stealing mess, calling the World Series trophy a "piece of metal," the ugliness of the economic negotiations -- Manfred has found himself a handy punching bag for fans.

This is altogether different. It requires moral clarity and prescience, the latter of which is especially rare when no one can possibly predict where the coronavirus goes next. What no leader wants, either, is to be the person who reacted too late. So with the control of the season, and with the ability to reschedule games, Manfred does not need to be shy about acting swiftly when necessary.

Can anyone else can shut the sport down?

Governments. Federal, state, local. Politicians and health officials. All it takes one statewide order in California. If five teams need to relocate to alternate locations, how quickly can they do so? Do the West divisions just play fewer games than the rest of the league? Or is that just too much for the game to stomach and a prelude to a shutdown?

The notion of a state waylaying the season is not far-fetched. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut's plan to quarantine travelers from hot-spot areas could have imperiled the Yankees' and Mets' games against Tampa Bay and Miami. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo exempted them.

Other states could undertake similar orders. And if they do, baseball might not find itself protected.

So how is baseball trying to prevent COVID-19 from spreading? Temperature checks, testing and distancing. Players will take their temperatures using a personal digital thermometer twice earlier in the day before entering the stadium, where they'll be screened again. If a player's temperature registers at 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, he'll get tested. Already, players and coaching staff will be tested every other day. And then there are the social distancing measures, reinforced by everything from lockers 6 feet apart to inactive players sitting in the stands to strict boarding and deplaning rules.

Will it work?

Uhhhhhhhh. It could. There are some optimists in baseball. There are some pessimists in baseball. It feels a lot like the country, actually.

The optimists believe the protocol is strong, the resolve to play is motivational and that the league and teams can weather the positive tests and keep playing. The pessimists fear the gathering of groups, the travel, the presence of those who aren't tested as frequently as players or coaches, and the bad timing of baseball's return to coincide with growing case numbers.

Who can help the likelihood of success?

The players. The protocol addresses "Covered Individuals" -- all the people who are going to and from the stadium every day. But the words in the protocol are directed at those who are young, wealthy and consequence-free: "MLB will not formally restrict the activities of Covered Individuals when they are away from Club facilities, but will expect the Covered Individuals on each Club to ensure that they all act responsibly. The careless actions of a single individual places the entire team (and their families) at risk, and the Covered Individuals on each Club should agree on their own off-field code of conduct for themselves and their family members to minimize the risk to others."

That latter part is especially true. Multiple veteran players have told ESPN they intend on leading direct, stern team meetings upon arrival at training camp. All had some version of the same message: The only way this works is if we do everything we can to avoid COVID. Our health depends on it. Our families' health depends on it. Our paychecks depend on it. Our livelihood depends on it. And our ability to win a championship depends on it. In a 60-game season especially, the team that stays healthy will be the team that wins. So don't be selfish. No clubs. No packed bars. No short-term gain is worth endangering what this team can accomplish.

Can they do it?

I know. It's just appropriate. You're trying to say 900 active-roster players and 1,800 total will practice monkish self-discipline? That is ... wishful? Naive? Hilarious? D. All of the above? That's about right.

And that's just about going out. The leaders will address behavior at the stadium, too. Players' habits tend to be ingrained, and yet the protocol, ridiculous though in some places it may be, is assiduous enough to provide a good road map for safely circumnavigating COVID. As far as sales pitches go, it's not bad.

The worst part is, although a good proportion of players probably will follow the proper steps, all it takes is one who doesn't. One guy who goes out, who sits too close to others, who feels a tickle in his throat on a plane and tries to stifle a cough. With baseball -- with sports -- it never will be simply about the case numbers and hospitalizations and fatality rates. The optical element that exists is powerful and trains a magnifying glass on small hot spots. The only comparable industry to sports, in terms of the news coronavirus positive tests generate, is politics.

What happens when a player tests positive on the road?

If home is within driving distance, he can head there. If not ... he's probably stuck in a road city for at least a week or two.

Communication and cooperation among teams will be paramount if baseball is going to happen in 2020. Players will test positive on the road, and when they do, the road team will want to consult with the home team to find a proper place to stay, whether it's a hotel, condo or otherwise. Further, the team whose player tests positive will ensure an employee remains in town with him to ensure his well-being and recovery. Teams will do the same already in concussion cases.

Can players just opt out of the season altogether?

Absolutely. Some are planning it already. With training camp report date as early as Wednesday for pitchers and catchers and 60-man player pools being filled, word should filter in over the next few days.

Those deemed high-risk cases -- with a preexisting condition that makes them more susceptible to COVID -- can do so and retain their salary and service time. Those who are not high-risk but have a pregnant wife (Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Gerrit Cole and Zack Wheeler among them) or an immunocompromised family member can sit, like any other player, but won't get paid or collect service.

Worth noting: If the season is canceled during training camp, players receive their full service time from last year -- even if they opted out -- because the March agreement awards that. If the season starts and stops ... that's a different story.

What are 60-man player pools?

Quickly: From here on, at least for the next few questions, let's operate like the season is happening, if only because the every-other-paragraph caveats just don't fit particularly well. So, the pools. Because isn't happening this year, MLB teams have no farm system from which they can pluck players. Because coronavirus outbreaks are very real possibilities, the necessity for an extra-deep roster arose. Thus, teams are allowed to invite as many as 60 players to training.

Teams will break camp with 30 players and an additional three-person taxi squad that accompanies them to every game. Two weeks into the season, rosters shrink to 28, and two weeks after that, they're at 26 for the remainder of the season. In the meantime, the leftover players from the 60-man pool will be practicing, player intersquad games and having a ton of downtime.

"You want to know who I worry about getting sick?" one agent said. "It's all the kids who aren't going to be on the big league roster and are going to have all the free time in the world and are going be packed into apartments because they're literally not getting paid to play."

Here's what he means: As part of the March agreement, MLB advanced players $170 million in salary. That money was divvied up into four categories. Players with guaranteed contracts received $286,500. Those with minor league splits in their deals received $60,000, $30,000 or $16,500. Players on their team's 40-man roster for the first time, like top Atlanta prospect Cristian Pache, received the lowest sum.

Pache's contract calls for a $46,000 minor league split. That's in a full season. In this partial season, if he spends its entirety not on the Braves' active roster, Pache would be due a salary of around $17,000. Meaning he could spend the next three months playing baseball -- July training, August and September staying ready -- for a grand total of about $500.

While it's true Pache received the remainder of that money as an advance, the idea of him receiving $40 a week -- pretax -- is comical. So is the fact that there are plenty more young players on 40-man rosters in the exact same position.

Forgiveness of the advance for players on split deals, totaling around $33 million, was part of the framework that emerged from Manfred's meeting with union executive director . The MLBPA pushed for more games and a larger cut of potential new postseason TV money, and when the league imposed its schedule, it no longer included the advance forgiveness. The idea of potentially doing months of work for what feels like free is not sitting well with a large group of young players, according to sources.

What else are they worried about?

Good ol' service-time manipulation, of course. A tutorial: Typically there are 186 days in a season. Players earn major league service every day they're on the big league roster, and 172 days of service equals a full year. Manipulating service happens when a team calls a player up from the minor leagues late enough that he can't earn the full 172 days.

The March agreement outlines this season's service formula: (A x (186/B)), where A is the number of days spent on the major league roster and B is the number of days in the season. We know B is 66, which means to receive a full year of major league service, players must spend at least 61 of those 66 days on the active roster.

In other words, teams can leave their best prospects off their major league roster for less than a week, delay the player's free agency by a year and chalk it up to the exceptional circumstances of 2020. The exact cutoff date: July 29. Any player called up that date or later gets "service-timed."

Another concern: Some players on one-year, non-guaranteed contracts are starting to worry about unemployment. Typically, if a team cuts a player with such a deal late in spring training, he is owed 45 days' termination pay. Not under the operations manual, which says players will be paid for 45 days "at the adjusted rate." And considering teams are looking to scrimp and save wherever they can, unloading some pricey veterans at a fraction of their anticipated cost is exactly how some ownership groups care to operate.

Why?

Because they say losses are going to be, as Cubs owner Tom Ricketts said, "Biblical." Maybe he was talking about Ecclesiastes 5:10, which says: "Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income."

Anyway, the owners claim most of the losses come from a lack of ticket sales. It's why Houston Astros owner Jim Crane said that as coronavirus cases balloon in Texas, his plan ... is to sell tickets to games. The only way to make up for lost revenue, he said, is to peddle tickets, merchandise, beer -- "whatever they'd like to have," Crane said.

Crane's ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong moment remains undefeated in 2020, though tucked into Page 28 of the operations manual is a very simple phrase hiding in the middle of a paragraph: "Clubs may permit fan attendance at games with the approval of MLB and relevant local authorities."

Should MLB get through training camps, and should the players find a good rhythm in the new setting, the notion of fans isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. It's just ... well, you're more than 3,500 words into this. You know what it is.

If games actually are played, what are they going to look like?

They might not be great. The combination of an aborted spring training, three months away and three weeks of spring training 2.0 does not necessarily portend great baseball. It will look different, and not just because there's a designated hitter in the National League now and a runner will start on second base in extra innings. The lack of time to stretch out starting pitchers could lead to deeper organizations stacking two starting pitchers together in the same game, a strategy known as piggybacking. It's rather common in the minor leagues, where teams try to limit young pitchers' innings. In the big leagues? That would be new.

Remember, nobody knows how pitchers are going to respond. Some have been throwing regularly. Others haven't picked up a ball. A lot of evaluators believe pitching injuries will spike.

For hitters, soft-tissue injuries are the bigger concern. Hamstrings, in particular, are finicky muscles that often are strained in the first month of the season. That could be because of March and April weather. It could be the ascent from spring training to game speed.

The biggest concern, naturally, is COVID-19 cases -- and the reality that the saliva tests being administered could produce false positives in addition to real ones. Even if a slight outbreak doesn't shut down a season, it can ruin one in a hurry.

Can't teams in that position just trade for guys?

Not after Aug. 31. That's the deadline this year. And remember, too, trades may be difficult to come by. Scouts haven't seen prospects since March. And shipping out a player in the middle of a pandemic, one GM said, "feels wrong."

So what happens if there's an outbreak Sept. 1?

Hopefully there are enough players in the 60-man player pool to field a representative team. But say there's an acute situation where both catchers on the active roster and two more on the 60-man tested positive for COVID-19.

The answer: Go to Nashville, Tennessee, where the Triple-A Sounds are starting their own satellite league. It doesn't sound like it's going to be too fancy: 40 games between two teams of minor league free agents who get paid $400 a week starting July 23, the suspected start date of the MLB season.

"Guys are going to get signed out of there," one official said. "Especially catchers and bullpen arms. We are all going to need both of those, and if these are the only games being played, they'll be the most ready to play."

Saved the most important question for last.

Bet it's some heady stuff. Whatcha got?

Is MLB really going to enforce a ban on spitting?

That's the most important question?

Yes.

Fine. Of course they're not going to.

Here is the rule from the operations manual: "Spitting is prohibited (including but not limited to, saliva, sunflower seeds or peanut shells, or tobacco) at all times in Club facilities (including on the field). Chewing gum is permitted." Aside from the clear bribery perpetuated by the chewing- gum lobby, the remainder of the rule is there more as a reminder.

The virus, it says without saying, is here, and it is the thing that can end this season before it begins. So if players think for even a second that they probably shouldn't spit in between pitches ... that's one less potentially harmful expectoration. Add up dozens, hundreds, thousands, and maybe it changes the calculus. That and distancing and being responsible.

There are so many places it can go wrong that if MLB completes a season, it will have not only its protocol and behavior to thank but a heaping mine of luck. Baseball may well be back, yes. But just for how long is anybody's guess.

World Series odds, pennant odds and win totals for all 30 MLB teams

After a long delay and a lot of back-and-forth between the league and the players, there will indeed be a 2020 MLB season, albeit only 60 games. That also means adjusted odds for bettors.

The Dodgers and Yankees are still the favorites to reach the Fall Classic. Here are the season win totals, pennant odds and World Series odds for all 30 teams.

Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook as of June 25.

AL East

Baltimore Orioles (750-1 to win World Series)

Win total: 20.5 Win division: 100-1 Win AL: 150-1

Boston Red Sox (50-1)

Wins: 30.5 Win division: 9-1 Win AL: 20-1

New York Yankees (+350)

Wins: 36.5 Win division: -300 Win AL: +160

Tampa Bay Rays (18-1)

Wins: 34 Win division: +325 Win AL: 8-1

Toronto Blue Jays (75-1)

Wins: 28.5 Win division: 20-1 Win AL: 35-1

AL Central

Chicago White Sox (25-1)

Wins: 31.5 Win division: +250 Win AL: 11-1

Cleveland Indians (25-1)

Wins: 32 Win division: +250 Win AL: 11-1

Detroit Tigers (500-1)

Wins: 21.5 Win division: 100-1 Win AL: 100-1

Kansas City Royals (250-1)

Wins: 25 Win division: 100-1 Win AL: 100-1

Minnesota Twins (15-1)

Wins: 34.5 Win division: -125 Win AL: 7-1

AL West Houston Astros (11-1)

Wins: 34.5 Win division: -175 Win AL: 5-1

Los Angeles Angels (22-1)

Wins: 31.5 Win division: +450 Win AL: 10-1

Oakland Athletics (20-1)

Wins: 33.5 Win division: 3-1 Win AL: 9-1

Seattle Mariners (250-1)

Wins: 24 Win division: 100-1 Win AL: 100-1

Texas Rangers (60-1)

Wins: 29 Win division: 15-1 Win AL: 22-1

NL East

Atlanta Braves (15-1 to win World Series)

Wins: 33 Win division: +160 Win NL: 7-1

Miami Marlins (250-1)

Wins: 23.5 Win division: 100-1 Win NL: 1000-1

New York Mets (22-1)

Wins: 32 Win division: 3-1 Win NL: 10-1

Philadelphia Phillies (30-1)

Wins: 31 Win division: 4-1 Win NL: 14-1

Washington Nationals (18-1)

Wins: 32.5 Win division: +240 Win NL: 8-1

NL Central

Chicago Cubs (20-1) Wins: 31.5 Win division: +210 Win NL: 9-1

Cincinnati Reds (20-1)

Wins: 31.5 Win division: +210 Win NL: 9-1

Milwaukee Brewers (40-1)

Wins: 30.5 Win division: +450 Win NL: 18-1

Pittsburgh Pirates (250-1)

Wins: 25 Win division: 40-1 Win NL: 100-1

St. Louis Cardinals (25-1)

Wins: 31.5 Win division: +240 Win NL: 11-1

NL West

Arizona Diamondbacks (50-1)

Wins: 31.5 Win division: 8-1 Win NL: 20-1

Colorado Rockies (100-1)

Wins: 27 Win division: 17-1 Win NL: 40-1

Los Angeles Dodgers (+350)

Wins: 37 Win division: -500 Win NL: +150

San Diego Padres (30-1)

Wins: 31 Win division: 7-1 Win NL: 13-1

San Francisco Giants (250-1)

Wins: 24.5 Win division: 50-1 Win NL: 100-1

New baseball film captures the tournament that made Shohei Ohtani, Yusei Kikuchi stars

By Tim Keown

High school baseball in Japan is a noisy, communal, hyperkinetic affair. It starts right away, as coaches hit pregame infield practice with three going at once, one after another after another, and the constant collision of chatter resembles an aviary. It's difficult to square this raucous spectacle with the perception of baseball in America, where detractors see a staid, inert sport incapable of capturing the attention of the terminally inattentive.

Every baseball field in Japan is considered sacred ground, and before each game the players gather in a ruler-straight line in front of their dugouts and bow to the earth to thank it for providing the canvas for their endeavor. It's deep, and it's portrayed in riveting detail in "Koshien: Japan's Field of Dreams," a documentary that premieres at 7 p.m. Monday on ESPN. It highlights a difficult truth: There is very little levity that comes with playing high school baseball at a high level in Japan; it is a task filled with regimented training and complete devotion, heavy responsibility and historical accountability.

Everyone has a job, and they play to serve each other. When a catcher ends the on the bases, three of his teammates sprint out of the dugout, two carrying one shin guard each and the third holding the chest protector, mitt and mask. They slap the gear on him like a pit crew, and when they're finished the catcher runs to his position to the loud congratulations of everybody on the bench. They all cheer the pitcher as he loosens up between innings -- every strike is rapturous -- and they greet the teammate who warmed up the right fielder as if he'd conquered nations. The third-base coach, always a player because coaches are not allowed on the field, carries an aerosol can of freeze spray in his back pocket and runs to the plate every time one of his teammates fouls a ball off a body part.

On the field, every ballplayer is expected to uphold a century of tradition. It's not hard to see how stress can build in these young men who are called upon to model the purity and promise of a country's youth.

Hanamaki High School head coach Hiroshi Sasaki is one of the best coaches in his country, and he is one of the major characters in Ema Ryan Yamazaki's documentary. The other is his mentor, Tetsuya Mizutani, the longtime coach of a high school in the Yokohama prefecture. In 2018, they both have the same goal, as captured in the documentary: lead their teams to the 100th summer Koshien, the countrywide, 49-team high school tournament that captures Japan's imagination for two weeks every year. Out of its winners, the tournament creates national heroes for life, but it's a merciless single-elimination format. Players on losing teams are given bags into which they scoop dirt from the Koshien infield as lifetime keepsakes. Most of them scoop their own tears along with the dirt.

The documentary follows the two teams through the eyes of their coaches and select players. Mizutani hovers over his squad like a brooding, obsessive boss, consumed with reaching Koshien for the first time since 2009. (Just to reach Koshien, his team must win the 200-team prefecture tournament.) His life feels devoid of everything but this quest, and his commitment to Japanese baseball tradition is unrelenting. "I want to remain a stubborn man of the 20th century," he says, and his militaristic style reflects just that. He refuses to let a player practice until he has gained a certain amount of weight. His words flare and his eyes sear at players that fail to meet his expectations. And, in a twist that pulls the film in unexpected directions, he sends his promising son, Kosho, to play for Sasaki and Hanamaki High.

I met Sasaki while I was reporting a story on Shohei Ohtani, one of his former players. (Yusei Kikuchi is another.) If you're looking for differences between our baseball culture and theirs, consider this: On the day we met, a brisk Saturday in late March, Hanamaki played a doubleheader. After they won both games, the players bowed to the fans to thank them for attending and immediately headed to a side field to practice for 90 more minutes. They were on the field for nearly eight hours.

Sasaki and I spoke by video call last week, and he was curious whether an American audience would be interested in the documentary, essentially a "Hard Knocks" style look at Japanese high school baseball. I told them I couldn't predict the response, but I felt pretty sure Mizutani's coaching tactics would be viewed unsympathetically. Sasaki winced, voiced his admiration for Mizutani and said, "As times change, things need to be adapted, sometimes gradually and sometimes quickly based on circumstances. There are a lot of things in Japanese high school baseball that are done based only on tradition and routine -- how things have always been. It's important to adjust that and move forward with the times."

The contrast between Mizutani and Sasaki provides the documentary's narrative tension. Sasaki is the future, questioning tradition and drawing from interests as disparate as corporate efficiency, American training techniques and nature. Despite a culture that routinely allows pitchers to throw 250 pitches on successive days, he removed a struggling Kikuchi from the Koshien championship game in 2009. (Kikuchi, it turned out, was pitching with a broken rib but still felt he betrayed his team.) Sasaki finds solace and balance in the garden he cultivates behind a chain-link fence along the right-field line of Hanamaki's field, and he draws parallels between coaching young men and finding the right-sized pots to allow the plants to reach their full potential.

I confess to geeking out a bit when it comes to the cultural differences between Japanese and American baseball, but there just aren't many coaches in the U.S. -- especially high school coaches -- who approach the game with Sasaki's level of philosophical intuition. (Most high school coaches in the U.S., to be fair, are consumed with getting the infield mowed and the sprinklers to work.) When I spent a week in Japan in 2018 reporting on Ohtani, I was fascinated by the idea that a pitcher who fails to cover the bag on a ground ball to first -- even when the first baseman has an easy jog to the base -- is committing not just a mistake but an act of selfishness, because each player exists to make life easier for a teammate. Similarly, a third baseman who attempts to make a showy play on a roller down the line, rather than letting it trickle foul, is not only grandstanding but insulting his teammates. When I was in Japan, Ohtani was going through his first big league spring training. He couldn't throw strikes, he couldn't hit, and the Angels had relegated him to pitching against minor leaguers and a visiting Mexican League team. I asked Sasaki if he was worried about Ohtani's ability to adapt to Major League Baseball, and he smiled and said, "Ohtani must go down before he comes up." Of course, Ohtani went on to pitch and hit his way to the Rookie of the Year in 2018, and last week, when I reminded Sasaki of his sage words, he said, "I know Ohtani. He has a remarkable ability to give himself a software update."

Sasaki is at the forefront of a generational shift that extends beyond baseball and into the Japanese culture itself. In the United States, baseball's status as our resident game-of-failure imbues it with a tinge of nihilism, but young players aren't burdened by the broader social expectations faced by those who compete for Koshien. Last spring, Sasaki brought his team to his town's sister city, Hot Springs, Arkansas, and he came away with a typically deep observation. "In Japan, the ballpark is considered like a dojo -- a martial-arts arena -- and in the U.S. it is of course called a park," he says. "I think there is room to incorporate more things from the U.S. while keeping the core of what's good about Japan."

One Japanese tradition calls for high school players to shave their heads. It's considered a sign of solidarity, a communal act of anti-individualism that bonds teammates and evokes the innocence and virtue that Japanese fans have come to expect. At the end of the documentary, Sasaki, whose remarkable success as a coach -- 10 Koshien appearances -- has allowed him to become a trailblazer in Japanese baseball, gathers his team to tell them he is discontinuing the practice. It is nearly unprecedented, and his players, arranged symmetrically before him, don't seem to fully comprehend what they're hearing.

"I asked myself, 'Why are we doing this?'" Sasaki told me. "To win, why do we need shaved heads? I couldn't answer that question, so that's why I made the change. At first, a lot of people didn't accept it. I received a lot of complaints and criticisms, especially from the older generation that has a certain vision of how a high school baseball player should look."

As a sign of Sasaki's influence, coaches throughout the country followed his lead, including Mizutani, who made the decision before the abbreviated 2020 season. Judging solely by the documentary, it would have seemed inconceivable that this "stubborn man of the 20th century" could make such a concession.

Sasaki's son, Rintaro, is entering high school this year. The equivalent of an American 10th-grader, he is a big, powerful hitter who projects to be one of the country's top players by the time he finishes high school. Sasaki had to answer a difficult question: Should he adhere to Japanese tradition and send Rintaro off to study and pursue his baseball career away from his family, perhaps under the tutelage of his father's mentor Mizutani -- whose son, Kosho, is being heavily scouted by the Japanese professional teams after working with Sasaki? Or keep him at Hanamaki High and face the scrutiny and potential charges of favoritism that could come with coaching his own son?

Sasaki has decided, he tells me, to keep his son home. He will coach him as he does every other player. He will push and challenge. He will make sure his son respects tradition as he prepares for the future.