Chris Bassitt on in-game experience for players: ‘We as athletes took the fans for granted’
Players have experienced two regular season games in fan-less, silent stadiums.
Chris Bassitt is already missing the drums, horns and buzz at the Oakland Coliseum.
“This has shown us how truly important fans are,” Bassitt said to reporters on Sunday morning. “It’s very awkward, it really is.”
Awkwardness is baked into Major League Baseball’s format, and the awkwardness is a small price to pay to keep up the social distancing that is paramount in order to keep the season moving.
The rules require that players not playing that day sit in the stands to limit crowds in the dugout. Bassitt has been sitting in the auxiliary dugout for the first two games of the season, and has already seen how it it can negatively impact players, particularly pitchers, looking to communicate with other pitchers. The bullpen is located under a tent further down the third base line, close to their normal bench near the mounds.
The location down the third base line under that tent is a “worst case scenario” for any player hoping to get a good view of what’s being thrown, and how opposing hitters are swinging at or taking pitches, Bassitt said. In the minor leagues, players charting pitches in the stands have a much better angle.
“In the minor leagues, you’re behind home plate so you can see fastball away, this is what he’s doing fastball away. Fastball in, this is what he’s doing with fastball in, or he’s chasing curveball here,” he said. “From our viewpoint and angle, you can’t tell where the pitch is at or swing is, so it’s literally almost pointless, to be quite honest.”
Starting pitchers tend to keep to themselves during their starts, but a handful, such as Bassitt, thrive off chats with other starters between innings.
“I’ve had many starts where I had Brett Anderson, Sonny Gray pull me aside and say, ‘listen, this guy is setting you up or looking for this,’” Bassitt said. “You have starters watching you that know you specifically and can break down your game… Having someone talk to you through that is very important. This whole situation limits that.”
The rules don’t mandate that those designated to the auxiliary dugout stay there for all nine-plus innings. The crew consists of bench players and starters that aren’t pitching that day. If one player feels the need to pull another player aside, he can hop over the couple dozen feet into the dugout to do so.
But, Bassitt says it’s more difficult than ever to read the room. Does a player want to be bothered?
“When the starter is int he dugout, whole team in the dugout and we’re looking at spacing and the last thing you want to do is tick someone off,” Bassitt said. “The whole environment is very awkward.”