Fans cannot return quick enough in Minnesota

Covering baseball during a pandemic led to moments that will hopefully never be relived. Without the noise and the energy fans create — no, the canned fan sounds did not work — things we normally don't hear on the field suddenly were audible. Players couldn't grumble from the bench about ball and strike calls without getting the attention of the home plate umpire.

We had to listen to Miguel Cabrera spend nine innings constantly yelling in Spanish to anyone within earshot. With no fans in the stands, that meant everyone in Target Field — and maybe a few folks walking down 1st Avenue — could hear Cabrera's yapping for three hours.

I'm surprised Luis Arraez never got in trouble with umpires. From his spot at second base, he would yell "strike!" as the pitch crossed the plate even before the ump offered his judgment.

And I'm surprised Sergio Romo didn't incite a bench-clearing brawl. He nearly did, twice. Once because he took issue with the entire Royals dugout for objecting to one of his borderline pitches being called a strike. The other time was when Cleveland's Francisco Lindor — who's not the angel many believe he is — was needling him from the dugout.

All of that, we hope, is over now.

Gov. Tim Walz on Friday announced a significant rollback of COVID restrictions that included local pro sports teams being allowed to open their gates to thousands of fans. Twins fans can fight for foul balls. "Wonderwall" will be back at Loons matches. Fire up the "Minnesota Rouser" for Gophers games. And the Wild and Wolves will be up first, welcoming a few thousand fans indoors next month.

When the Twins played Atlanta in a spring training game on March 11, 2020, no one knew that would be the last time they would play in front of fans until the AL wild card series against Houston, when a few hundred supporters were allowed into Target Field. Sports aren't sports without fans in the stands, we realized.

Now that this country is getting the upper hand on the virus and the number of vaccinations continue to rise, teams are waving fans back to stadiums. With the Twins going for a third consecutive AL Central title, the Wild possibly in the midst of a resurgence and the Loons coming off a run to the conference finals, there are reasons to be front and center.

It was entertaining to hear Nelson Cruz cheer for himself during pregame introductions last season, but let's not ever have to go through that again.

NFL free agency begins this week, and many players are about to realize they picked the wrong year to be out on the market.

The salary cap has been reduced to $182.5 million after sitting at $198.2 million for the 2020 season. The loss of revenue due to the COVID pandemic has led the league to tighten its belt after having raised the cap in every year since 2011.

That 8% reduction doesn't seem like much, but it already has led to roster upheavals across the league as teams release players in order to be cap compliant. The mid-tier free agents will feel the crunch as teams get "creative" in how they approach the market. Mid-tier free agents in baseball have found in recent years what's it's like to be in that category, and it's about to happen in football.

The Star Tribune story last week detailing the lack of diversity in the Gophers athletic department was startling in that a university of its size and status does not have single person of color among its 19 head coaches and is the only Big Ten university without a president, athletic director or coach of color.

What wasn't startling was the reaction from some readers, mainly the ones who argue that the most qualified candidate should be hired regardless of race. I agree! But the reason there are Rooney Rules and requirements that minority candidates receive interviews is that qualified minority candidates ARE STILL NOT getting opportunities.

Particularly at the U, it appears.

Richard Pitino was still the coach of the men's basketball program as of this writing, but how qualified was he to go 54-96 in conference play?

If Gophers AD Mark Coyle decides to activate a coaching search, how will he determine what makes a candidate qualified?

Major League Baseball is going to use the minor leagues to test a slew of potential rule changes — changes that would have to be approved by the players association for immediate use. Not a fan of robot umpires; the robots have made mistakes in previous testing. Not a fan of making it difficult to shift; hitters should make the adjustment. But the one change I think will end up in the majors in the near future is enlarging the bases by three inches. It should reduce collisions, especially at first base.

Who needs brackets to make a call on the NCAA men's tournament? Gonzaga is one of the most entertaining teams in the country with shooters, ballhandlers and defenders. Jalen Suggs, the Minnehaha Academy product, has impacted that team as much as any newcomer in the country. But the Bulldogs are stepping up in class when entering the tournament, and I see them getting knocked off before the Final Four. Baylor, one of the most hard-nosed teams in recent years, will cut down the nets.

The 3-2 Pitch: Three observations and two predictions every Sunday.

lneal@startribune.com • Twitter: @LaVelleNeal