Eaton on playing in empty stadiums: "We are nothing without our fans"

In a world fighting through the coronavirus pandemic, baseball will begin the season with no fans in the stands. So how important is crowd noise to the players and to the coaches? Will there be an advantage or disadvantage in hearing what everyone is saying, having it echo throughout the field and the park?

Nationals manager Davey Martinez understands it is a unique situation. The club had hoped to celebrate their World Series title with an opening day banner-raising in front of their adoring home fans. This season that is very unlikely. So, Martinez said, the club is looking for a substitute in this week's simulated games for the energy and the noise that a crowd would normally provide.

"Someone was talking about the noise and not having fans and stuff," Martinez said on a Zoom video call. "(Eric) Thames today busted out some tunes, started singing in the dugout during the game. We are going to see a whole lot of that. We are going to be able to hear the other teams quite a bit. I told (the players) we just got to keep it fun and worry about us. Don't worry about anything else."

The Yankees and other teams are considering piping in crowd noise to help make the games seem more normal to the players. On recent English Premier League soccer broadcasts, crowd noise is played in the background for the television audience. Will the Nationals follow suit by using their sound system to make up for the lack of noise generated by what would normally be more than 40,000 fans at Nats Park?

"We haven't really decided what we want to do yet," Martinez said. "There is talk we could pipe in some crowd noise, but we'll see. It's definitely going to be different. We are going to miss the 26th man, which was our fans. But when it comes to (games), we got some (good) coaches. We'll come up with some different things. I told them we will all wear face marks and whisper and things of that nature because I know the eyes are going to be on us. We are going to have eyes on the other dugout, see what we can pick up."

Former White Sox right fielder Adam Eaton is one of the few who has played in a major league game without fans in attendance. Back in April 2015, two of the three games the White Sox were scheduled to play in a series against the Orioles in Baltimore were postponed due to unrest in the city over the death in police custody of Freddie Gray. One game was played with no crowd at Camden Yards.

"That day, I don't believe there was even walk-out music, there was nothing," Eaton remembered during Friday's Zoom video call. "It was just straight go out there. It was worse than a backfield spring training game. I think any noise will help. I know the soccer teams, they are playing crowd noise on TV. Even if you have that buzz in the stadium I think that would help, personally. Just to get our minds off the pandemic and why there are no people in the stands.

"I guess that's going to be another challenge that we are going to have to face. I don't think guys realize the challenge that's going to be. I did not enjoy the one game that I played (without fans). Just energy, the field, the fans. We are nothing without our fans. I truly believe that the game is completely different. The emotion of the game. Just the momentum of a fan base going into a place, a fan base against you. It's very difficult."

Eaton said players will need to make adjustments to get ready for empty stadiums. Players have said in the past how important fans are in getting them up to play, whether they're riding high on the cheers they hear in their home park or fueling their intensity with the boos of a hostile crowd on the road.

"I think the first week will be fine," Eaton said. "I think the weeks after that will be very challenging. But as a professional athlete, ask the guys in our clubhouse that have done it a long time, it's a challenge that we are going to meet head on and try to make most out of the situation."

Eaton says he deals with the anxiety brought on by the current unusual situation of empty stadiums by trying to make it fun. Some joking around with his teammates, with chatter on the field, like calling out for fly balls and what base to throw to. He believes doing so will make it feel like a regular game.

"A couple of the guys just want to try keep everybody loose," Eaton said. "Try to enjoy it. As mad as the pandemic is, we are trying to make the most of our situation. Trying to make guys laugh, keeping guys on their toes. Anything to kind of get their mind off (an) empty stadium."

The schedule is not easy. The Nats must go up against good teams in their own division but also good teams from the American League East.

"It's going to be tough," Martinez said. "I think our boys are prepared for it. They really are. For me, the key for us is, obviously, we got to stay healthy. That's the number one thing and we will go from there. We are going to bang heads with some pretty good teams and it's going to be a lot of fun."