A cardboard cutout of Tommy Lasorda at Dodger Stadium. The shouts of Tom Hanks hawking hot dogs at the Oakland Coliseum. A shot of Cubs pitcher Jon Lester sitting in the bleachers at Wrigley Field.
With every pitch, with every swing, with every inning in empty parks across the majors, this looks, sounds and feels like the most bizarre season in big league history.
“Going to be 2020 coronavirus baseball,” Yankees star pitcher Gerrit Cole said.
New York Mets employees place cutouts of fans in the seats before the opening day baseball game between the Mets and the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field, Friday, July 24, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Players wearing masks. Social distancing in the dugout. New rules. A skewed, 60-game season.
Plus, another sign of the times: Salutes to the Black Lives Matter movement, with players kneeling before and during the national anthem.
All of this against the backdrop of barren ballparks — no spectators allowed. Some teams are putting cardboard cutouts with fans’ faces into the box seats. You can have your dog’s likeness in the stands, too.
To make up for the stadium silence, clubs are piping in artificial crowd noise. It sounds like cheering, sort of. Perhaps the most unique audio effect is in Oakland: Hanks sold peanuts there as a teen, and the A’s are blending his voice into the vendor track.
Members of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants kneel during a moment of silence prior to an opening day baseball game Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)Empty seats are seen in Busch Stadium before the start of an opening day baseball game for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates Friday, July 24, 2020, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)A mural commemorating Jim Thome’s 500th career home run is displayed near empty seats before the Chicago White Sox’s home opener baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, July 24, 2020, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Fans watch from the rooftops an opening day baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers, Friday, July, 24, 2020, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)Members of Detroit Tigers and the Cincinnati Reds take the field to honor Black Lives Matter prior to a baseball game at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Friday, July 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)People watch the game from the Top of the Yard bar on the rooftop of Hampton Inn & Suites hotel during an opening day baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)Boston Red Sox players spread out in an expanded dugout during the fifth inning of an opening day baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park, Friday, July 24, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)The sun sets behind Wrigley Field during the sixth inning of an opening day baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers, Friday, July, 24, 2020, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)Globe Life Park custodian Erazmo Gonzalez watches from the upper deck during an opening day baseball game between the Texas Rangers and the Colorado Rockies, Friday, July 24, 2020, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)The Seattle Mariners play the Houston Astros in an empty Minute Maid Park during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, July 24, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)Cutout photos of people are set up in the stands at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in preparation the Texas Rangers opening day baseball game. The Rangers host the Colorado Rockies on Friday. (AP Photo/LM Otero)The New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals stand on the field before their opening day baseball game with no fans in the seats at Nationals Park, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) New York Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton (27) jumps to celebrate his two-run homer with Aaron Judge during the first inning of an opening day baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)The San Diego Padres play the Arizona Diamondbacks during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 24, 2020, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)The Chicago White Sox, top, and Minnesota Twins hold a black ribbon for social justice before the White Sox’s home opener baseball game Friday, July 24, 2020, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) he Baltimore Orioles play against the Boston Red Sox during the third inning of an opening day baseball game at Fenway Park, Friday, July 24, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)he Texas Rangers and the Colorado Rockies play in front of cardboard cutouts depicting fans, dubbed «DoppleRangers,» during the first inning of an opening day baseball game Friday, July 24, 2020, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter) he lower level seats at Globe Life Field are filled with cardboard cutouts depicting fans, dubbed «DoppleRangers,» as Colorado Rockies pitcher German Marquez delivers to Texas Rangers’ Joey Gallo during the sixth inning of an opening day baseball game Friday, July 24, 2020, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)Miami Marlins, left, and Philadelphia Phillies, right, hold a black ribbon in support of the Black Lives Matter movement prior to a baseball game, Friday, July 24, 2020, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)New York Mets, foreground, and Atlanta Braves players line up in a mostly empty stadium before their opening day baseball game at Citi Field, Friday, July 24, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)A bolt of lightning comes down from the clouds during the sixth inning of an opening day baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees at Nationals Park, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
