CLEVELAND, Ohio — We are just a few days away from Major League Baseball players reporting back to spring training. 

It could be a quiet season for the security outside of Progressive Field, when the Indians finally “play ball.”


What You Need To Know


  • The Indians president says one of the most important parts of the plan to return is testing

  • This season will be different than any other, from no fans in the stands, at least at the start, to players not being allowed to chew tobacco or sunflower seeds

  • Several players and staff have already tested positive either at their homes throughout the country, in the Dominican, or at the team’s Goodyear facility in Arizona, but all have either recovered or only have mild symptoms

"I’m excited and a little skeptical at the same time. Like, I want to see baseball, but I don’t want to see any of the players getting sick and shutting down right after you get started back up," said Indians fan Cassidy Clark. 

Clark lives not far from the stadium, biking around town on a nice summer day, admitting he’ll miss potentially not having a chance to cheer on the Tribe in person.

"Yeah, I mean especially living so close, you know, I probably go to about 15 to 20 games a year and we just walk across the bridge and it’s really nice. And it’s gonna be a big part of my summer routine that’s gone now and it’s really gonna suck."

The original entire season schedule is posted on the window to the ticket office outside the stadium. And right now, it’s unclear when tickets can be sold from this building again. 

“I think that’s really going to be up to the state of Ohio. And they have to kind of give us some guidance on what they might be comfortable with, and then it would be up to us to adopt a plan that we can do that in a safe way,” said Indians President Chris Antoinetti.  

Antonetti says his top priority is ensuring the workplace is safe for both players and staff as they return to Progressive Field. And he knows one of the most important parts of that plan is testing. 

"That testing will occur initially in an intake screen where every player and staff in tier one and tier two that are effectively those that are involved in the day-to-day operations of either our major league camp or our alternate site camp will be tested when they come in and they won’t be allowed access to the facility until they clear that testing."

Indians President Chris Antonetti confirms several players and staff have already tested positive either at their homes throughout the country, in the Dominican, or at the team’s Goodyear facility in Arizona, but all have either recovered or only have mild symptoms.

Antonetti adds so far, no players have chosen to opt out. 

"We have talked with every high risk individual to have an individual conversation with them to explain the risks of returning to the environment, the protocols that are in place to try to ensure health and well being for everyone, and then have given all of them the option of whether or not they would choose to participate.”