Those cardboard cutout fans were actually helpful, says Corey Seager originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
It was a rocky road, but the MLB survived this season, that for many reasons, will go down in the history books. A champion was crowned once the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied in Game 6 of the World Series vs. the Tampa Bay Rays to win their first championship since 1988.
And the only fans in the stands to see it were ... cardboard cutouts, MLB's version of fan interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to one player, it wasn't just all fun for fans throughout the season who saw their faces on the broadcast.
World Series MVP and Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager said on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon that they were good for player morale.
"It was really weird, it was hard to get used to," Seager said when asked what it was like playing without fans. "... Without the crowd noise, it was tough to get through. The cardboard cutouts actually helped way more than you think, it was crazy how it just broke up the monotony of the stadium."
So like many of us, Seager admitted he wasn't sure of the idea to fill the seats with cardboard fans but he said that once he got into the game and got into focus it was "pretty cool" how it changed the stadium.
Without them, he said it was just "really empty."
"When they first started bringing them in I was like 'I don't really know,'" he said. "But once you got into the game, got into focus, the background changed. It took away the monotony of the stadium."
The background cutouts, of course, weren't just in the World Series. Baltimore Orioles' fans had their cutouts in the stadium this season and the Nationals had some very special guests in the stands for Juan Soto.
