PLAY BALL: After a year hiatus, Biscuits return for home opener against Lookouts

The last time the Biscuits played at Riverwalk Stadium, they won the 2019 Southern League title. They will open the 2021 season on Tuesday after missing the entire season a year ago due to COVID-19. (Staff photo)

By GRAHAM DUNN

When word came that the 2020 Minor League baseball season was officially cancelled at the end of June, Montgomery Biscuits manager Morgan Ensberg went home to Los Angeles.

It was rare for the California native to see much of the Pacific Ocean in the summer time.

Thanks to COVID-19, he got to enjoy the beaches, which were virtually empty. What was normally a two-hour drive to other parts of Southern California became 20 minutes on empty highways.

With all that, Ensberg’s heart was in Alabama and on his players.

“I went back to LA knowing the season wasn’t going to happen,” Ensberg said, “but I thought about the players who would lose a year of development and that hurt me the most. There are certain amounts of reps they need to get to the next level and those opportunities were gone.

“Being a pro has an age shelf life. When you rely on the youthfulness of your body, it makes a difference. I was hoping that the pandemic would shoot down and we’d have an abbreviated season. They needed reps.”

The players were equally disappointed, not knowing at the time, what the future held for the upcoming season.

“It was frustrating since we waited for two weeks thinking we might get to play,” stated Biscuits infielder Miles Mastrobuoni. “We never got a full answer. It was a shot to the heart. You don’t get back that year.”

There might have been some solace in watching the parent club, Tampa Bay, reach the World Series, but that was also bittersweet. The Rays would lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.

Ensberg and the players stayed in touch, mostly through ZOOM calls. Instruction was also present.

“I had position players but ironically I didn’t have any players in Montgomery,” Ensberg said. “Those conversations were how are they doing? Are you able to get outside and do any work? Checking in on them and ask them if they were doing OK.

“Most were able to find places and get some reps. Some were able to get a little video and send it. But that’s not ideal. When you are person to person, there is a human connection. It’s not about teaching but gaining trust.  They can see your body language or hear the tone of your voice.”

Mastrobuoni spent time in New Jersey and was basically isolated for a few weeks, as were most players since nearly everything shut down. He found ways to work out at home and once gyms opened, he was a regular.

“When nothing was open, I was doing (elastic arm) bands but once the gyms open, we were basically able to do the workouts,” he said.

Move forward a few months and Major League Baseball announced the minors would play but the start of spring training and the season would move back a month with training sites opening in April.  That also took getting used to.

“If you think about it, we were the only (sports) entity that was starting over,” stated Biscuits general manager Michael Murphy. “All the other leagues got a partial season in before shut down. The Majors got their season in albeit a short season of 60 games. Football got played… the NBA. Minor league baseball is the only one to come back not having any sort of a season in 2020.”

The wait is finally over as every team in the minors began play last week. The Biscuits open their home schedule Tuesday with a six-game series against Chattanooga. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Riverwalk Stadium.

There are a few modifications to the schedule including no scheduled games on Monday. All series are scheduled for six games. Seating capacity is still a work-in-progress.

Ensberg was encouraged by what he saw from the players heading into workouts, which began in early April.

“They didn’t skip a beat,” he said of the players. “They were in incredible shape. I was shocked by their sharpness. They looked great. It is a testament to the fact that we have the best minor league system in the game.”

A big factor for everyone as the game returns – the games will be played in front of fans.

“It’s always great,” Mastrobuoni said. “It gives you extra adrenalin. It gets you going.”

“They love playing in front of people,” Ensberg added. It is very, very, very important to them. It provides more energy. They want to show people what they can do - what they are best at.

“I hope fans will come out. I hope we provide some normalcy. I love this place. I think Montgomery is awesome the people are so nice.”

The Biscuits opened the season dropping three of five games to the Smokies with one game rained out. Tuesday begins the only home series for Montgomery in the month of May.

“It’s been going through spring and having a month at training site, you want to go out and play,” Mastrobuoni said. “It feels weird not to have played a meaningful game yet.  Now we get to.”