The mask hides his face, so you’ll just have to believe Kevin Newman when he says he was smiling Friday morning when he stepped onto the infield for summer camp at PNC Park.

Major League Baseball returned to Pittsburgh when the Pirates began preparations for a 60-game season that will start later this month.

“It was good to get back out there and enjoy the stadium, enjoy the view and be out there with the guys,” said Newman, who is returning for his second season as the Pirates’ starting shortstop.

“Just happy. You can’t see it all the time because we have masks on, but we’re smiling.”

There were many protocols in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus — no spitting or high-fives, no licking fingers, chewing sunflower seeds or drinking from water bottles and, of course, social distancing exists almost everywhere — but Newman said the morning practice was like so many others he has experienced since high school.

“Groundballs, (batting practice), stood in for live bullpens, got some baserunning in,” he said. “Pretty much a normal day.”

He said he has learned to kick an old habit of licking his fingers before every pitch while he’s in the field. Also, he wears the mask anytime he’s close to another player, even though it’s not always comfortable.

“When you’re out there on the field, it’s definitely hard to wear a mask during certain things. If you’re running around in the heat, you have to breathe,” he said, noting he doesn’t need to wear it while fielding groundballs.

But he knows wearing the mask is for the greater good.

“Everybody wants to abide by the rules and keep everyone out of harm’s way,” he said.

Added pitcher Joe Musgrove: “We’re not trying to boss people around or call shots. We’re trying to get everyone to wear ’em as much as we can. I feel like the more often I wear mine, people are going to see it and want to wear it, or they’re not going to want me to yell at them or say something to them, so they’ll throw it on.

“I don’t want to wear it any more than the next guy, but we’re trying to keep guys safe.”

Manager Derek Shelton can’t discuss players’ individual covid-19 test results, but he did say, “Everybody we thought should be here was here, and as we get test results, we’ll go off that.”

Across Major League Baseball this week, it was announced there have been 31 players and seven staff members who tested positive for covid-19 among 3,185 total samples collected (1.2%).

The night before the first practice, Shelton and his staff were forced to adjust procedures, placing players in smaller working groups to abide by guidelines set by Allegheny County Health Department.

“I’d really like to credit Donnie (Kelly, bench coach) and Todd Tomczyk (director of sports medicine) in terms of being aware of it and walking us through it,” Shelton said.

Every MLB team has only three weeks to prepare for the season, which is scheduled to start July 23 or 24, and Newman said not only is that enough time, but it needs to be enough time. At this point in the summer, players do not have a choice.

“There’s no reason in saying it’s not (enough time), because it’s what we got,” he said. “We’re just going to embrace it and do everything we can.

“We don’t necessarily have time for every individual person to go through their individual routine, in terms of being on the field. But we’re adjusting well.

“Coaches are doing a great job of asking us what we need, what we would want in the time we do have out there. We are definitely making the most out of it.

“I can’t demand a bunch of time and get all the stuff that I want because there are other guys out there, and we only have a certain amount of time (each day).”

Newman, whose wife will join him in Pittsburgh in a few weeks, said he never had any fears about returning to baseball amidst the coronavirus that has been spreading rapidly throughout Allegheny County in recent days.

And, he said, his teammates feel the same.

Asked if he thought about opting out as a few players throughout MLB have decided to do, he was quick with a definitive answer.

“That wasn’t even a thought in my mind,” he said. “I want to play baseball.

“Every single person has been stoked to get back here, to get back to our normal lives.”

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