It was announced by each team that the spring camp for professional baseball, which will start on the 1st of next month, will not allow spectators for the time being even in Okinawa Prefecture, and with this, all 12 teams' 1st army camps will start with no spectators.
In Okinawa Prefecture, eight teams of Hanshin, Chunichi, DeNA, Hiroshima, Yakult, Lotte, Rakuten, and Nippon-Ham will start the spring camp from the 1st of next month, and the giant will start the second camp in Naha City from the 16th of next month. doing.
On the other hand, Okinawa Prefecture has issued a state of emergency unique to the prefecture until the 7th of next month in response to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, and requested that no spectators enter the professional baseball camps held in the prefecture during this period. did.
For this reason, the team, which will start camping in Okinawa Prefecture from the 1st of next month, announced on the 20th that it will not allow spectators until both the government and the prefecture's own state of emergency are lifted.
Each team says that it will "consult with the local government and consider it again after both emergency declarations have been lifted" regarding the acceptance of spectators in the future.
In addition, Lotte has already announced that it will not allow spectators to enter the camp on Ishigaki Island in Okinawa.
With this, the 1st Army camp of 12 teams will start with no spectators, including Miyazaki Prefecture.
In addition, in Kochi Prefecture, a group consisting mainly of the Hanshin 2nd Army and the Seibu 2nd Army is scheduled to camp, but Hanshin will be in Kochi after consultation with the local government in response to the nationwide spread of infection. We announced that the camp will be held without spectators for the time being.
The reaction of the team owners and players
DeNA's owner Tomoko Namba explained to new players who visited the parent company in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo about the company's management situation, and then heard from media companies that the camp from the 1st of next month became unattended. "It's unavoidable. There is a declaration in Okinawa that accepts it, so you have to consider the recipient side as well. It will be an unusual camp, but it will change because you will not forget the professional awareness and start your career I want you to cherish the existence of fans. "
In addition, pitcher Irie Daisei, who joined the team in 1st place in the draft, said, "I was a little disappointed with the unattended camp because I wanted to show my play to various people quickly. However, if I think the other way around, I will be more serious about baseball. I want to show my fans that I'm playing at Yokohama Stadium as soon as possible because I can face (Shinshi). "