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Covid-19 From The Lens Of The Players

Nate Ochoa boarded the bus on March 12th heading to TD Ballpark in Dunedin for one of the biggest days in his young baseball career.

The first trip of the year for the Canadian Junior National Team was overshadowed early on by the spread of coronavirus but as the players took the field on this day, it was the last thing from their minds as they peered into the opposing dugout at multiple current big leaguers.

And that was when the cancellations of major sports across North America began, including the College World Series and March Madness.

That day, March 12th, would be the final day of spring training across pro baseball and that weekend would become the final time players across the country convened for baseball activities.

“The day started out as normal as every other day on the trip… Wake up, eat then head to the field. Getting to the diamond in Dunedin was super exciting for everyone and coronavirus was the last thing on my mind that day,” says Ochoa, a 2022 shortstop who announced his commitment to Purdue shortly after returning from Florida.

“I was more focused on the day ahead and the opportunity to play against a professional team. When we found out everything was being cancelled, it was just a shock. I remember everyone just kind of panicking after the game because of how fast everything happened and the immediate changes.”

Roughly 30 players as well as staff may have had an early departure out of the Sunshine State but that wasn’t the only thing that made for a quiet trip home. It was the uncertainty of what would await them back in Canada and just how much would this virus affect baseball, especially the players looking ahead to the 2020 draft and those still hunting for a scholarship.

“It was definitely tough to hear that everything was getting cancelled so quickly. Two days before we flew home, we were playing the Blue Jays and I was planning on going to PBR Spring Training with Fieldhouse, but then as soon as we landed at Pearson, it was just nothing,” continued Ochoa. “It felt like a movie to be completely honest, it felt surreal.”

When Ochoa found out about the cancellations, he still would have had two games against the Tigers and Yankees before moving over to PBR Spring Training. When Tanner Almond, an outfielder from the Ontario Nationals, found out about the cancellations, it was the night before his teammates were going to board the bus for a 24-hour bus trip to Sanford, Florida.

Almond was already in Florida with his family, awaiting his Nationals teammates for a week of baseball in the sun, but for the uncommitted 6-foot-3, 190-pound outfielder it was an opportunity to showcase himself in front of several college coaches.

“It was an opportunity that I had been working for over the past 4 months or so to show the player I have become. You really do get emotional the first few days realizing all those hard-working hours spent at the gym and in the cage are going to have to wait,” explains Almond, who also attended the 2019 Future Games.

“The Florida trip is definitely something every Canadian high school baseball player looks forward to, getting out in the sunshine state with your buddies and tracking down fly balls with your shorts on in March is something I’ll always remember.”

After returning from Florida with the family, including his brother and teammate, Griffin, they both knew it was time to get back to work despite baseball coming to a halt across the country.

Tanner is the No. 9 prospect in Ontario’s class of 2021 while Griffin comes in at No. 16 and both are among the top uncommitted in the class which has been motivating them throughout the winter months to have a strong 2020 and eventually find their way to a good college program.

“Having Griffin along with me during workouts and to throw with is very beneficial. We both feed off each other no matter what it is, just the competitive nature that is present when we are together I think brings out the best in us, which helps us grow and get better as athletes,” continues Tanner, before getting into his current isolation routine.

“We have a smaller gym in our basement that allows us to get essential lifts in so I typically lift four times a week, upper/lower body splits then I have two conditioning/active recovery lifts that are shorter just to ramp my heart rate and sweat out the lactic acid. Then I try to throw as much as possible outside, depending on the weather as well as some batting practice in my backyard daily, also depending on if it’s snowing or not.”

Late April snow in Canada making it difficult for players to get outdoor work in? Sounds about right.

We’ve had our fair share of windy days, days with flurries and not a ton of sun but players across the province are still making sure they’re game ready, whenever that game comes.

Weather has always been something players have had to work through in Ontario, but COVID-19 has affected the baseball landscape in a way we’ve never seen. Cancelled, postponed, monitoring the situation, we’ve heard it all over the past six weeks since that Thursday back in March when 30 of Canada’s top amateur players lived out their dream of taking on Canada’s team.

It’s been encouraging to see all the videos on social media of players still getting after it as well as all the commitments coming in from coast to coast including some big time schools with Utah, Nebraska and Purdue.

Whenever baseball does come back, it will likely look a lot of different than the last time organized games were played but the passion and love for the game from these young players will be seen like never before.

The absence of baseball has reminded us all just how much we love the sport.

We’re itching to get back here at PBR Canada but in the meantime, keep up-to-date through the Watch Your Lips Podcast and social media as we continue to update our rankings and showcase all of our uncommitted talent.