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The Boston Red Sox Tuesday, March 30, 2021 * The Boston Globe At Fenway this year, players will abandon the suite life and get back in the clubhouse Alex Speier Anxiety engulfed the Red Sox in the wake of reliever Matt Barnes’s recent positive COVID-19 test, a reminder of the vulnerability within the shared space of a clubhouse during a pandemic. Ultimately, the unease proved temporary, as Barnes tested negative several times over the next 48 hours, resulting in his clearance (along with eight other players who’d been isolated as a result of contact tracing) to return to the team. Yet it served as a reminder of what baseball teams may confront in the year to come — and that the Red Sox have a very different clubhouse setup to contain the spread of the virus this year. A year ago, Red Sox players had the most luxurious accommodations in the history of Fenway Park. With a need to implement social distancing and other safety protocols, the Red Sox abandoned their clubhouse and got creative, relocating players and coaches to luxury suites. The suites, which housed two players each, proved effective in keeping the players safe, healthy, and comfortable. When players reported for the summer training period in July, they were dazzled by the setup. But the suites came with a drawback. Player interactions dwindled. Familiar rituals such as conversations over meals were lost. For coaches and front office staff, the dispersal made it difficult to locate players and thus to coach and help them. By contrast, on road trips, the team was together in visiting clubhouses large enough to maintain social distancing.
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