At last viewing, the Iowa Cubs were in the middle of dropping the conference title series after winning their conference in the Pacific Coast League’s regular season. What we didn’t know then, of course, was that a novel coronavirus would begin to spread overseas a few months later, reaching the United States after the turn of the new year, and taking so much down with it, including the 2020 minor league season.
That Iowa Cubs playoff series was just over 600 days ago. The last Minor League Baseball we saw. Think about how long it’s been.
Minor League Baseball returns, finally, tomorrow. It looks considerably different than it did in those days, now with just four full-season affiliates per organization, no short-season Low-A, and everything kicking off much later than we’re used to. Fortunately for Cubs fans, the four full-season affiliates are familiar: the Triple-A Iowa Cubs (roster discussion here), the Double-A Tennessee Smokies (roster discussion), the High-A South Be
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Covid tests, remote first pitches and no Tebow: 10 things to know about the Syracuse Mets’ opener
Updated Apr 30, 2021;
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Covid precautions. A remodeled stadium. A different league. A new manager.
And yes, no Tim Tebow.
After the entire 2020 minor league baseball season was canceled because of Covid, the Mets return to the field Tuesday by hosting Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at 6:35 p.m. Maximum attendance is 2,163, and according to Syracuse general manager Jason Smorol the game will be a sellout.
Here’s a primer to catch you up on some of the many changes this season.
Covid testing
display proof of one of the following in order to enter the park:
Adolis García’s New Groove
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Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
In what had been a lackluster start to his career, Adolis García came into 2021 with an .087 / .125 / .130 triple slash line (.AVG / .OBP / .SLG). In a minuscule 24 plate appearance sample, he was arguably the worst player in MLB. I’m not sure he could have punished the baseball if the catcher had told him the exact location and type of pitch that was headed his way.
In the two following clips, you’ll see much of what I’m talking about:
Clearly, García could not catch up to fastballs. Jesús Luzardo’s 96mph fastball comes in slightly elevated into the middle-middle space of the strike zone, and García proceeds to whiff through it. To dive into the moving parts of García’s swing, we can start with his toe tap. He taps his foot, then brings it up, only to repeat that process again.