Baseball Is Back: Our Wild 2020 Season
This year, Opening Day didn't land until July — a twist no one could have predicted. Once Spring Training was cancelled back in March, our days turned into one long blur. Luckily, Trey landed a spot on the 60-man roster and is now on the Taxi Squad in Appleton, Wisconsin. Getting baseball back in our lives means the world to us.
A lot of our baseball friends are taking the year off or signing with independent league teams around the country. We feel lucky to be among those still suiting up with the Brewers this summer.
The Long Drive Home and the Months of Waiting
Go back to April: Trey decided to make the 18-hour drive home by himself since so much about the season was still up in the air. Usually I'd fly out to Arizona and then to wherever he ends up after Spring Training, but with flights so scarce in April and COVID-19 still so new, we agreed I should stay home.
He called me along the way to describe how strange the roads felt — hardly any traffic, even though West Texas is normally sparse but never truly empty. We were thankful he made it safely, and he even caught a small break from driving since my family has property in the Texas Hill Country, which trimmed his first leg to about 12 hours. After a couple of restful days there, we drove the last 4 hours home, where so many questions would go unanswered for months.
All through April, May, and June, Trey trained and threw every single day, never knowing when the call would come. Those three extra months together were a real gift — we'd never spent that much time side by side during those months. We celebrated our first Easter, our anniversary, and the 4th of July as a couple. A lot of that free time went to the golf course or fishing in a tank, and Trey definitely got his fill of both.
The Call, the Taxi Squad, and a Season Unlike Any Other
Near the end of June, we finally heard that baseball would return — such a happy moment. The Minor League season was officially cancelled, which only added more questions about what the year would hold for us. Trey was on the AAA team and the 40-man roster, so who would actually get to play?
In early July the call came: report to Milwaukee on July 15th for testing and quarantine, then head to Appleton for the rest of the season. He'd made the Taxi Squad. We were both overjoyed that some version of baseball would happen for him this year. If you're not familiar with the term, the Taxi Squad is a group of extra players ready to step in for the big league club whenever needed.
Saying goodbye never gets easier — if anything, it gets harder every time. This one, though, was shorter and full of excitement. Trey and I expect to be apart for about 11 weeks. We've done long stretches before, but not in roughly two years, so the distance will sting. It's always worth it, because we both know it won't last forever. Unless he gets called up to the Big League team — which we're praying for — Trey won't appear in competitive games this year. His days will be filled with intrasquad scrimmages and practice. The season looks very different, but at least there is BASEBALL.
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Contact MeFollowing along with a baseball season during a year like 2020 meant embracing uncertainty at every turn — from a delayed Opening Day to a cancelled Minor League schedule. If you're curious about how the Taxi Squad works or what those months apart looked like for us, the FAQ above covers the details. And if you're living through your own long-distance season, know that the wait is always worth it.