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Mariners veteran Kyle Seager wants to play baseball in 2020, but 'guys have to feel safe'

News Tribune - 7/8/2020

Jul. 7--SEATTLE -- Back home on his farm in North Carolina, Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager is used to practicing social distancing.

"I've been doing it for years," he said before a workout Tuesday morning during the first Zoom call he said he's been on.

He's so far removed, he said, he gets in a little bubble with his family, and it's sometimes nice to be in that bubble.

Seager and his family returned to North Carolina about a week after spring training shut down in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

He spent more time with his wife, Julie, and their three children than he would be able to during a normal baseball season.

"It was really nice," he said.

Like so many other major leaguers with families at home, whether or not to play in 2020 with the pandemic causing so many new rules and regulations, was a decision Seager had to seriously consider.

"That's real," he said. "It changes things with the families. It changes when you start thinking about something other than yourself. Those are real concerns. Me and Julie talked about it, we weighed the pros and cons. (We) had quite a few discussions about if I do play, do they come up to Seattle? Do they stay there? How do the arrangements and everything work?

"Those were all legit discussions and legit concerns."

Seager, 32, and the longest-tenured Mariner, ultimately decided to play, and was on the field when Seattle opened summer camp Friday. His family also returned to Seattle.

"I know a lot of guys are obviously going a different direction, but it's something that everybody had to certainly weigh," he said.

Seager is one of several players who has spent most of his time on the field wearing a mask.

"It's just for practice purposes to make sure we do our part, to make sure we can get to these games, and make sure we can get this thing rolling and get things thing off the ground," he said.

" ... We all understand about the virus, and we get that we've got to protect ourselves and our teammates, and we don't want this thing to spread. So, if we can control it, and if wearing a mask helps that and we can get this season rolling, I think that's what we want to do."

Mariners outfielder Braden Bishop said Seager has been one of the more vocal leaders in camp, speaking out about the importance of players following Major League Baseball's health and safety protocols.

"He's got a family that is here with him," Bishop said. "He talked with us (Sunday) just about ... we have this opportunity to try and play, we can only control so much, but what we need to control is extremely important, like more so than any other year.

"So, while you need to focus on getting in what you need to get in baseball-wise and be ready to play, you also have to take into account, 'OK, I'm going back to the hotel, I can't do these certain things that I've been able to do in the past because they can affect 50-60 people,' and while the percentage is small, you don't want one of those very serious cases to be a part of our group."

Seager said he was concerned about how the new health and safety protocols would be implemented before he arrived, but some of those have eased.

"There's definitely questions," he said. "It's different for everybody. It's certainly not a normal spring training. There's not a blueprint that you can follow for this. This is all very different. Things need to get tightened up for sure, right? You see across the league you've got to get the testing squared away. That's something that we've got to get figured out.

"Guys have to feel safe. If you don't feel safe, you're going to have a lot more guys opting out, and I completely understand that. It is definitely something that we have questions about, and there are issues and concerns.

"But, I think coming here wondering how it was going to be, thinking about all of the different protocols and all of the different things you're going to have to do and all of the changes, it was probably a little bit worse in my head, I would say. Once you're actually here doing it, it's different, it's weird, it's strange, but then it kind of goes back to just, 'Let me show up, do my job, do what I'm supposed to do, keep everybody safe and healthy and then we can be able to go to work.' "

FRALEY HIT BY PITCH

Outfielder Jake Fraley, who is projected to start for the Mariners this season, had a scary moment during Tuesay's morning workout, when a wayward fastball from Gerson Bautista hit him in the helmet during a live batting practice session.

The pitch appeared to glance off Fraley's helmet, knocking it off. Fraley hurried from the batter's box, but remained on his feet, and walked into the clubhouse on his own after speaking with trainer Matt Toth.

WALKER, OTHERS THROW LIVE

Four Mariners pitchers threw live batting practice sessions during the morning session, and four more threw in the afternoon.

Taijuan Walker, who made just one Cactus League start before spring training was shut down, threw to live hitters in an organized setting for the first time since March, facing Dee Gordon and Kyle Seager each twice. He threw 22 pitches.

Reliever Brandon Brennan (19 pitches) threw to Tim Lopes and Daniel Vogelbach, while reliever Sam Delaplane (21 pitches) threw to Evan White and Sam Haggerty -- and struck White out on three pitches the first time through -- and Bautista (18 pitches) threw to Fraley and Lopes.

Ljay Newsome, Taylor Guilbeau, Matt Magill and Carl Edwards Jr. all threw during the afternoon session.

Mariners top prospect Jarred Kelenic was one of the hitters who faced Newsome, and in one at-bat tagged a home run that bounced off the windows of the Hit It Here Cafe in right field.

SHORT HOPS

The Mariners begin intrasquad games Friday, and plan to play a game every day leading up to their season opener on the road in Houston on July 24, with one off day scheduled for July 17. Not all intrasquad games will last nine innings, Mariners manager Scott Servais said, and length will be dependent on pitching. ... Servais said the Mariners plan to switch up workout times beginning next week, having the non-playing group train in the afternoon and scheduling games for the evenings, reflecting their regular-season schedule. ... Catcher Tom Murphy (foot) returned to regular workouts Tuesday, including taking batting practice, after fouling a pitch off himself Sunday. X-rays on the foot were normal, Servais said.

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