Just before the start of Tuesday's simulated game at Oracle Park, Giants manager Gabe Kapler jogged out to the edge of the infield to have a conversation with Bill Miller, one of the two umpires calling the action. As Kapler approached, Miller reached into his pocket and grabbed a blue medical mask that he put on for the short conversation.
That was a change of pace from what some teams have seen from umpires thus far, and a few innings into the game, Miller and Doug Eddings took it a step further. Kapler brought them the masks that coaches and players have been wearing around camp for two weeks and both wore them the rest of the afternoon, with Eddings calling balls and strikes with a face covering underneath his protective equipment.