ROUND ROCK, Texas -- The Major League Baseball season was supposed to start this week, and not long after that minor league teams would have kicked off their year. We know that schedule has changed and it’s meant change for organizations like the Round Rock Express.
- Round Rock Express was slated to begin season soon
- Employs many full- and part-time staff members
“The thing we’re trying to do is mitigate the losses and assign full-time staff to other projects leading up to the season,” said Express president Chris Almendarez.
The Express were set to open the season on April 9, but with the uncertainty of things right now, there is no exact timeline of when baseball will be back.
“This is real and people are losing jobs and we want to do the best to make sure our folks are taken care of,” said Almendarez.
While the organization does have a full-time staff, many of their other employees are seasonal workers and they don’t start until the games get going. But no games means no revenue.
“The bulk of our money made is April to September. The more we delay it’s going to be tough and challenging times,” added Almendarez. “We’re going to persevere and do the best we can and remain positive.”
While Almendarez tries to manage everything within his organization, he also had a recent scare with the virus through the eyes of a father. His son Luke, who plays baseball at the University of Houston, had to be quarantined with the rest of the team after a staff member was showing symptoms.
“Been living on the edge of our seat with the news and Luke was quarantined with the rest of the team but got great news: the staff member came back negative,” said Almendarez.
That meant Luke was able to return home late last week.