In wake of Allegheny County coronavirus outbreak, Pirates close PNC Park workouts to media
On the eve of the first day of training camp, a coronavirus outbreak in Allegheny County has forced the Pittsburgh Pirates to make adjustments to their workout plans at PNC Park.
The stadium will be closed to all outside entities, including the media, until further notice, the team announced Thursday.
The team also said it will make the necessary adjustments to its camp schedule to ensure all local guidelines are being followed.
Pirates players began to report to PNC Park on Wednesday and Thursday in preparation for the resumption of workouts Friday.
The Pirates originally planned to have eight workout groups — four for pitchers and four for position players — filling four time slots between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Since they made that plan, Allegheny County announced 233 new covid-19 cases on Thursday, closing bars, restaurants and casinos for everything but takeout and delivery for a week and asking residents to voluntarily stay at home. Most pertinent to the Pirates, the county also banned all gatherings of 25 people or more.
Major League Baseball has yet to announce a regular season schedule, but the season is expected to begin around July 23.
Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.
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