Rangers Players Display Unity; Will Remain Together as a Team in Arizona

Texas Rangers players decided to stick together and stay in Arizona as originally planned before the coronavirus outbreak derailed the baseball season.

Baseball, along with just about every other sport, has not been immune to the effect that the coronavirus (COVID-19) has had on the sports world. The baseball season has been derailed by the pandemic, with spring training games suspended and the beginning of the season delayed at least two weeks. 

Not long after Major League Baseball made those difficult decisions, they also suspended all spring training camps, giving the players three options:

1. Stay at their team's spring facilities.
2. Go to their team's metroplex.
3. Simply, go home, including those who live outside of the country.

Before any players made their decisions, Rangers' leadership put a heavy emphasis on the health and safety of their players and staff.

"We tried to be very clear and very careful with how we presented the options," Rangers GM Jon Daniels told the media via conference call on Friday night. "We want everyone to do what's right for them with the clear priority being the health of our people – the players, staff, their families, and certainly public health as well. We could not have been more clear about that."

"We don't want anyone to feel any pressure to make a decision if they feel like they will improve their chances of making the club or be in a better standing with us one way or another. We emphasized that as a group and also privately to some folks. We really want the decisions that are made to be guided by what's right for the individual and for all involved."

Obviously, the primary concern for everyone is their health and safety. Thankfully, no Rangers player has shown any symptoms of the virus.

"Nobody has been tested for it.," Daniels said. "I don't believe that anybody in our camp have met the criteria that is currently in place for testing."

The Rangers are also taking necessary precautions while everyone stays together.

"There's additional precautions we'll take from a standpoint of sanitation around the clubhouse. We have been for several weeks," Daniels said. "Last week, we had a medical grade cleaning done at Rangers village and the spring training complex."

The Rangers were originally set to break camp on March 21st before the season was put on an unprecedented hiatus. After a team vote, the 48 Rangers players in camp unanimously decided to stay put in Arizona through the week and travel back to Texas together. 

"We took a show of hands and said, ‘Hey, who wants to go home?’” Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo said. “Nobody raised their hand. Everybody wants to stay as a team.”

Here's a friendly reminder that the Rangers' team hashtag on social media is #TogetherWe.

For players that live outside the country, there's obviously major concern about being stuck one way or another with multiple countries instituting international travel bans. As the fluid situation continues to develop, travel restrictions may increase, further complicating players' abilities to get back to Texas when the time comes to pick things back up. 

Back in Texas, Globe Life Field is still a little over a week away from being fully ready for team workouts and/or games. 

“It is partially operational,” Daniels said on Friday night. “The field is not fully ready. The bullpen, the cages, the weight room are done or just about done, but probably a week to 10 days before it is fully operational.” 

The team can continue to hold light workouts at the team's complex in Surprise. When they get back to Texas, Globe Life Field or the team's Youth Academy complex in West Dallas are options for team workouts to be held. The Rangers held their January mini camp at their Youth Academy complex. 

The team deciding to stay together throughout this time shows the bond they've created throughout the spring. This is a difficult time for everyone. Obviously, the situation remains fluid and could change at a moments notice. For now, the Rangers will remain unified as a team, truly personifying the team's "Together We" slogan. 

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