As we all know, the Royals and all other MLB teams won’t be playing in front of a crowd this year. This is obviously to slow down the spread of COVID-19. It’s already risky playing baseball with COVID-19 going around anyway. Yes, it’s risky for the players, but I believe it’s even more of a risk for the coaching staffs and the umpires. Speaking of the spread of COVID-19, as you may know a few minor league players tested positive for the coronavirus. No MLB players had tested positive for COVID-19 until three Colorado Rockies players tested positive for the coronavirus. Who you may ask? The three Rockies players who tested positive for COVID-19 were right fielder Charlie Blackmon, left-handed pitcher Phillip Diehl and right-handed pitcher Ryan Castellani. How will crowdless games affect the Royals and many other teams you ask? Well it’s really quite simple if you think about it. Teams are used to playing in front of a loud audience. Players obviously block out the roar of the crowd, except maybe if they played at Arrowhead Stadium. Which is the loudest outdoor stadium in the world. Anyway back to baseball. The Royals and other teams can listen to pre-recorded audiences. You might know this as a studio audience. Another option teams could do is play in front of mannequins in the stands. That would be a little creepy if you ask me. But the Korean Baseball Organization uses them so it’s a thought the MLB should maybe consider. But if they don’t do anything about the no crowd situation we need to be thankful that we get baseball this year.
