Four months late and with no fans in the stands, the Phillies finally made it to opening day on Friday.
Managing partner John Middleton was excited about that because, frankly, he was concerned that the season would not happen at all.
“I remember that day we left Clearwater on March 16, knowing that we were closing spring training,” he said. “I was one of the last people to go out. Normally when you leave spring training, there is a sadness, but it is a good sadness. You have the feeling that you had a good time here and it has been a great experience, but it is exciting because we are going to go to the regular season.
“This time, there was a sadness tinged with this pallor that could be felt crossing the country as the virus spread. You didn’t know where it was going. So I literally turned off the lights, left the stadium and said to myself, ‘I don’t know how it will be this world. I don’t know when we’ll be back here, whether it will be this year or next. “
“So the news got worse from mid-March to mid-April. So, you never knew for sure. Were you sure? Yes, on some level. But there was a lot of doubt. It really wasn’t until I arrived in late May, early June when I started to see things change enough to make me feel even more confident that we were coming back. “
The teams will play a 60-game season followed by a postseason that has grown from 10 teams to 16.
Middleton is confident that all 60 games will be played without interruption. He believes in the health and safety protocols that baseball has implemented and believes that the players are committed to making it all work.
“All the behavior that started around mid-March that was new and unknown to people is no longer new or unknown,” Middleton said. “We have had months practicing that behavior and what seemed so strange and difficult months ago is not so strange and difficult today.”
“I think the other part of that is that as you get closer to the competition and the focus turns into winning games and you can clearly see your way, you understand the connection between ‘If I behave the right way today and this week and my teammates do, too, we can get on the field and play games. “
The Phillies have not had a winning season nor made the playoffs since 2011.
“Too long,” said Middleton.
How do you see the crowding of the National League East?
“It is probably the most difficult division from top to bottom,” he said. “Even the Marlins have some excellent young players, particularly on their pitching team. And they gave us attacks last year, as we all know.”
“I think we added two great free agents in Zack (Wheeler) and Didi (Gregorius). We made some improvements to our coaching staff. I think we have improved there. Our coaches are at least one other player, if not more than one player.
“I think we are winning in people and I am optimistic. It all comes down to two things: you have to be healthy and play at your ability. And if we are healthy and live up to our ability, I think we are going to have a very Good season. If we are not healthy or we are not playing to our capacity, then we are not going to have a very good season. It will all come down to that.
“And COVID has released a new wrinkle for staying healthy and taking care of yourself.”
The Major League Baseball and Players Association reached a last-minute agreement Thursday to expand the postseason to 16 teams, eight in each league. The top two finishers in each division plus the two teams with the next best records in each league will qualify for the October tournament.
The expanded postseason will help the industry recoup some of the revenue it lost during the close and without fans in the stands.
Some don’t like the extended postseason because it will send more than half of the MLB teams to the postseason. Chances are good that a team with a losing record will get there and have a chance to win the World Series.
But Middleton likes it.
“I think it is a really good move,” he said. “The deal is only for a year, but I hope it extends beyond that.”
It’s been over a decade since Middleton said he wanted to get his (trembling) World Series trophy back.
What if you get it back in a 60 game sprint and not a traditional 162 game marathon? Will it be so satisfying? Would there be an asterisk?
“No asterisk,” said Middleton. “I can present a pretty compelling case that no baseball player, and generally no professional athlete, have faced the challenges they will face this year because of COVID. They are having to change all of their behavior, that of their family behavior to keep them safe and healthy so they can stay on the field. There’s a lot of tension with that, there are a lot of obstacles to overcome. I think that tension and those obstacles are greater than playing an additional 100 games in a 162 game season.
“I think mentally, this will be the most challenging year of their careers.”
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