As coronavirus delays MLB season indefinitely, here is what’s next for Texas Rangers
Their livelihoods put on hold indefinitely and their months of offseason preparation potentially headed down the drain, Texas Rangers players called for a vote Friday night on how to proceed through these unprecedented times.
On the ballot were three choices:
Go home
Stay put
Head to Texas
The vote was unanimous.
The sports world may be going to hell, as the coronavirus pandemic has led leagues at all levels to suspend, cancel or postpone seasons.
But the Rangers will go to Texas.
“We took a show of hands and said, ‘Hey, who wants to go home?’” right fielder Joey Gallo said. “Nobody raised their hand. Everybody wants to stay as a team.”
The Rangers worked out Saturday morning and will continue to do so at the Surprise Recreation Campus for a week, when they will fly as a team to Dallas-Fort Worth and begin working out at Globe Life Field.
Gallo said the team has been told that the new $1.2-billion ballpark will be ready by March 23, the date the Rangers were scheduled to play host to the St. Louis Cardinals in a now canceled exhibition game.
The batting cages, bullpens and weight room are all the Rangers need, Gallo said, but intrasquad games could be played once the playing surface is deemed ready. Starting pitchers will be going to Arlington, too.
Enough players are going to Texas — there are 48 players remaining in big-league camp — to form two teams. Minor-leaguers can be summoned as needed.
“Realistically we’ll have enough guys to play games,” Gallo said.
He made clear that players can come and go as they need to, a policy that will apply to left-hander Mike Minor in particular as he and his wife prepare for the birth of their third child early next month.
Designated hitter Shin-Soo Choo said that breaking up and going home was the least popular option, especially for those who don’t live in the United States. They don’t want to be caught in a country that is part of a travel ban or potentially could be affected by a ban.
Choo, who lives full-time in Southlake, said that the return to Texas will enable the Rangers to stay in shape for whenever the 2020 MLB season begins.
All remaining spring games were canceled Thursday and the start of the regular season was pushed back at least two weeks, from March 26 to April 9. On Friday, MLB suspended all spring operations.
Teams have not been given any idea when the season will resume, though no one believes April 9 is viable.
“We prepared the whole off-season and spring training, and a lot of guys are ready to start playing the season,” Choo said. “Now we have to shut it down. We don’t want to lose that strength. We have to be prepared for the season whenever we start it. I think in these times you have to stick together and keep working out. We have to prepare for the season.”
This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 4:36 PM.
