The Hartford Yard Goats have been here before.
The club as of day’s end Thursday should have already held 13 home games at downtown Hartford’s Dunkin’ Donuts Park. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has derailed at least the first month of its 70-game home schedule.
Minor League Baseball’s (MiLB) ongoing shutdown leaves the franchise where it stood four years ago when faulty construction and other development hiccups delayed the ballpark’s debut and forced the Yard Goats to play its inaugural season entirely on the road.
“This is not a first for us,” General Manager Mike Abramson said of another baseball-free spring in Hartford. “The difference is that everybody else is going through this at the same time. Four years ago it was just us.”
The team’s entire 140-game season became uncertain this week after multiple reports said players were told the 2020 MiLB season would be canceled. But league officials immediately denied those claims.
Talks of canceling the season emerged as reports suggest Major League Baseball could play a shortened 2020 season in spring training facilities with expanded rosters that include minor league players. A subsequent developmental league has also been discussed, reports say.
Abramson said the Yard Goats, a Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, and a member of the Eastern League, is waiting for an official league announcement before it makes any potential changes to gameday operations, such as implementing new safety measures at the ballpark.
While MiLB will ultimately decide when games will resume, Gov. Ned Lamont late Thursday said his initial plan for easing Connecticut’s COVID-19 restrictions would permit certain businesses to reopen on May 20.
However, Lamont said large-gathering venues will likely remain closed for sometime and not reopen by May 20.
“We don’t pay too much attention to the rumors and the speculation,” Abramson said. “Everyone is in a wait and see mode, like most companies in the country.”
Scattered across remote workstations, Abramson said the Yard Goats’ staff is turning their attention to three key fronts: Philanthropy, planning and social media engagement.
On what should have been its opening day April 9, the club was instead donating 7,000 gloves and 2,000 bags to FoodShare. Staff has also been brainstorming new potential sanitation measures, safety rules and promotions to boost the overall gameday experience at Dunkin’ Donuts park, which has averaged more than 6,000 fans per game in its first 203 games downtown.
In 2019, the Yard Goats led the Eastern League in total attendance for the second consecutive year drawing 414,946 fans, up 1.5% from 408,942 in 2018, and up 5% from 395,196 in 2017. The team was headed into the 2020 season with Southington native Chris Denorfia as its new manager.
A large number of employees are also focused on increasing fan engagement on social media. Recently, the team’s social media accounts have promoted regular giveaways, contests and live streamed discussions on Yard Goats baseball. The team is also connecting young fans with players via videoconferencing.
“A reason we were so successful when we came out of the gate in 2017 was because we took that time off to plan,” Abramson said. “We’ve proven ourselves over the past three years that when we have a chance to get people in here, that they have an A-plus experience.”
