After months of deliberation, the Southeastern Conference baseball coaches and league administrators gathered Jan. 7 for another Zoom call. With about one month until opening day, they needed to decide if they would attempt a normal schedule during the coronavirus pandemic.
Over numerous calls, the 14 coaches had considered 10 conference weekends with four games per series, 12 conference series with three or four games and an entirely SEC schedule with no midweek opponents, a last-resort possibility in case other leagues canceled non-conference games. Really, they wanted to keep their full schedule.
The pandemic stole almost an entire season from the league last spring, and playing non-conference games increased the possibility that more SEC teams would reach the NCAA Tournament. So they stuck with their usual format — 10 conference weekends with three games per series plus 26 non-conference games — marking one of the first attempts at a typical season since the coronavirus shut down college baseball and everything else last March.
“We wanted to try to stay as normal as possible,” Georgia baseball coach Scott Stricklin said. “If we had to make a change — and who knows, it still could happen — we can always take games away or cancel weekends. Let's not do that if we don't absolutely have to.”
Though the pandemic changed league formats across sports the last 11 months, the SEC will embark on a 56-game slate when games begin next Friday, creating a sense of determination within the conference. The coronavirus still hangs over everything. Teams have converted lounges into locker rooms. Players and coaches wear masks. Anyone who touches game balls must undergo weekly PCR testing.
“Baseball's a sport that has rainouts,” said Herb Vincent, the SEC’s baseball administrator and associate commissioner for communications. “It has changes. There's some of that going into a regular season anyway, but obviously there's still a lot of uncertainty as we enter this baseball season related directly to COVID.”
To make it work, the SEC instituted a handbook of requirements designed by its Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force, a committee of team physicians and professors with one representative from each member school. The group determines testing frequency, health protocols and return to play guidelines. According to the league, it has met weekly since last April.
The task force labeled baseball one of two spring sports, along with softball, as an intermediate risk for transmission. Beginning next week, players and coaches will take a PCR test three days before midweek games and three days before the middle of a weekend series. Visiting team members must also undergo a PCR test the day before they leave and receive the results before departure. Non-conference teams must administer PCR tests three days before the game or a rapid antigen test one day before the game as the league tries to identify positive cases before the virus spreads.
If players or coaches test positive, they must isolate for at least 10 days, and they can’t exercise until the isolation period ends. They then undergo a medical evaluation from the team physician and cardiac testing — which includes an EKG, ECHO and serum troponin level — before a four-day re-acclimation period. Once they recover and return to play, they don’t have to participate in surveillance testing for another 150 days. The SEC used a 90-day policy for fall sports. Those who previously tested positive must still quarantine after close-contact exposure.
The task force also recommended teams create additional spaces for players to maintain physical distance throughout the facilities, a measure adopted by many schools. Finding space became crucial with larger rosters this season after the NCAA temporarily lifted 35-man limitations. Georgia has 41 available players. LSU has 38.
The decision helped teams accommodate an influx of players and ensured they could still play if multiple players entered quarantine, but in the midst of the pandemic, it brought more people into confined spaces. South Carolina converted its lounge into a temporary locker room. LSU added two benches to its bullpen and designated spots for players in the dugout. Georgia decided its pitchers will sit in the bullpen. Others may watch games on locker room televisions.
“It's really important that we follow these guidelines and try to be as safe as possible,” LSU sophomore catcher Alex Milazzo said. “That way we're not missing guys going into any weekend games.”
As much as teams can try to separate players, the sport requires a moderate level of interaction. The SEC task force required everyone with access to the field wear a face covering, including the home plate umpire. Players and coaches can remove their masks when they walk onto the field. They must wear them inside the dugout.
“When it first started, it was such a nuisance,” Missouri coach Steve Bieser said. “And now you don't even realize that you're wearing a mask.”
The coaches know they can lose players for an extended stretch at any moment. They stress best practices off the field, but conference protocols only apply within the facilities. During preseason practice, some players have trained at multiple positions in case the starters miss games. LSU tabbed freshman outfielder Dylan Crews as its emergency catcher.
“The biggest blow, obviously, is to the starting rotation or your main bullpen guys,” Stricklin said. “If that happens, you could go into a weekend in a tough position. Pitching is tough to replace. The position players are a little bit easier.”
Though the SEC can try to prevent the coronavirus from spreading amongst its programs, it can’t control other conferences. Already, the pandemic has affected teams’ non-conference schedules. Georgia had to replace three non-conference weekend opponents. Texas A&M dropped from 56 to 47 games at one point.
The day LSU released its schedule, LSU coach Paul Mainieri had to find a new weekend series, one of five changes he made to the Tigers’ original schedule. Mainieri keeps a list of in-state teams he can call on short notice. The threat of sudden cancellations looms over the season, jeopardizing the potential to reach 56 games.
“If we have to change something very quickly,” Mainieri said, “we won't hesitate to do that in hopes to get all 56 in.”
During conference play, the SEC doesn’t have open weekends for postponements like it did for football, limited by hard dates on postseason tournaments. But the conference learned during football season how to make changes in short periods of time. If two teams have outbreaks midseason, Vincent will try to match their opponents. He expects interruptions. The coaches do, too.
Football, basketball and other sports provided lessons through their experiences. The baseball coaches will have meals brought to hotels and arrange team meetings in large areas. At Missouri, the coaches from every sport created an email chain to share their best practices. Now, Bieser will pair players on road trips who live together back home. Missouri’s players won’t eat meals at a table together.
The coronavirus casts a shadow over the season, but the conference remains determined to complete its schedule. Last year, baseball suddenly ended. Players scattered across the country, their seasons over before they played a conference game. Some played summer ball. Others waited for fall practice.
The offseason lasted 11 months, but it will soon end, giving way to the hope of championships. The season will look much different with coronavirus protocols and reduced attendance, but the players feel excited. Soon, they get to play baseball again. Hopefully 56 games.
“We'll continue to take it day-by-day in baseball,” Vincent said, “and see if we can play a season.”
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February 14, 2021 at 05:00PM
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How the SEC plans to complete its 56-game baseball season - The Advocate
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