Preparations for the 2020 MLB season have taken some creative forms with games pushed back by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Giants manager Gabe Kapler told KNBR's "Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks" earlier this week he was staying sharp by playing "MLB The Show 20." Kapler's apparently so hooked on Sony's signature baseball simulation that he has tried recruiting some of San Francisco's front office to join him.
The pitch didn't work on first-year Giants general manager Scott Harris.
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"All I know is that Gabe challenged me to a game the other day," Harris told "The Murph & Mac Show" on Thursday morning. "He told me to go buy a [PlayStation 4] and get the game, and he wanted to battle-test some new in-game strategies. And I told him that the peak of my video-game career was 'Mario Kart' on [the Nintendo 64], so I was woefully unqualified to play 'The Show.' "
Harris confessed he wasn't much of a gamer growing up, as his parents didn't allow video games in their household. That led to him getting "absolutely smoked" when he would play video games with his friends, but not to him making up for lost time as an adult.
The No. 2 in the Giants' front office is all in favor of San Francisco's players and coaches taking up "The Show." Harris said he was happy with how people throughout the organization are navigating "uncharted territory."
"I think there's a lot of stuff that we can be doing right now," Harris said. "We're investing in a lot of systems in some of the infrastructure that we're building here with the Giants. We're finding some of the developmental processes and some of the evaluative processes are hopefully gonna lay the groundwork for future trades, or signings or draft picks."
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Harris is getting used to his and the Giants' new normal with play suspended. It could be a while longer before the season begins, after MLB and the players association agreed they wouldn't play until fans attending games don't pose a health risk.
The Giants' front office is laying the groundwork for the season whenever it does start. So are the players and coaches, and that apparently includes a lot of "The Show."
"I never really thought I'd work in a world where video games are actually a part of preparing yourself for a season," he said, "but everyone's staying creative and productive in their own ways."