Arizona Diamondbacks prepare for a unique baseball season

Major League Baseball is about to start what promises to be a very unusual season. We spoke with Arizona Diamondbacks President and CEO, Derrick Hall about how the team is getting ready. 

Players reported back to their respective teams on July 3 after undergoing a screening process. The process calls for all players to be tested every other day. In the first week of testing, the league reported only 1.2% of 3,185 samples collected returned positive. 

The return back to the field comes after the league canceled the remainder of its Spring Training games and delayed the start of the season on March 12th. Since then players and fans have been eager to see their sport get back to work.

Currently, Diamondback players are being split up among Chase Field and Salt River Field to contain the spread of the virus. Players have been seen taking an abundance of caution wearing facemasks in practice. But some are saying that the facemasks have been hard to play in. Regardless, players are doing what they feel is best for themselves and their families.

Though things will be quite different when the season does commence Hall is committed to making things feel as normal as possible. Fans can expect walk-up songs still to be played and fan engagement as best as possible.

The Diamondbacks are set to kick off their 60-game season on July 24. Unlike past season openers, there will be no fans in person. The first pitch against the San Diego Padres is set for 6:10 p.m. MST