FORT MYERS, FLA. - The beginning of the last day of the strangest spring training in Twins history, Rocco Baldelli gathered the team in left field at Hammond Stadium for a talk. Then, realizing fans were eavesdropping, he took the team to the adjacent practice field, and ushers asked fans to clear the area.
Usually, these kinds of meetings are held in the Twins clubhouse. In the age of COVID, Baldelli held large meetings outdoors this spring, and the team was split between clubhouses to allow for social distancing.
Such alterations to routine, and the lack of filled stands during games, were the two most obvious changes to spring training this year, at least to outsiders.
To team executives and media members, the changes felt more dramatic.
For team executives, the spring is usually spent getting to know players — especially new acquisitions and draft choices — and new staff members. For media members, a typical spring training might provide the best access in any major sport, with players available in the clubhouse, most of them in a relaxed state of mind.
I've been covering Twins spring trainings since 1993, and it's one of my favorite assignments because it is the rare place in sports where the conversations revolve around craft and personality more than daily results.
This year, reporters were not allowed in the clubhouse or on the field. Team executives said this spring was just as strange for them.
Dealing with a large group of players wearing masks, and not eating in the same room, turned what can be an ideal team-building exercise into a game of guess-who's-behind-the-mask.