St. Paul Saints open camp, begin season July 3rd in Sioux Falls
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The St. Paul Saints are coming off a high after winning the Independent American Association championship a year ago, but the team has had to play the waiting game like everyone else to see if there was going to be a season this year. Good news for baseball fans: Not only are the Saints going to have a season, but it starts in just a week.
"We’ve waited a long time for this. All the players are happy to have baseball starting up again even if it won’t be in our home ballpark. However, hopefully we’ll be playing in front of our fans sooner than later," said Saints manager George Tsamis.
***To see extended interviews with the Saints from Friday, CLICK PLAY ABOVE***
The Saints will head to Sioux Falls, South Dakota next Thursday and will begin playing games on Friday. Games will be played with just a few fans on hand — home teams can sell 25%-33% of tickets to spectators.
"It’ll be a little different not playing games in front of our fans and we have the best fans in the league, however, we can’t wait to get this season started and hopefully repeat what we did a year ago and win another title," said Saints pitcher Ryan Zimmerman.
The St. Paul Saints held practice on Friday at CHS Field in St. Paul.[KSTP/Jeff Brioschi]
Zimmerman is from Eden Prairie and loves playing in front of family and friends, but knows this is the new normal for now.
"I know safety is the biggest thing. The organization has done everything it can to give us a secure environment to play in and we’re doing everything we can to comply and keep everyone as safe as possible," Zimmerman added.