Braves' Hamels: Playing without fans will feel like 'biggest tryout' of career

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Atlanta Braves left-hander Cole Hamels is confident baseball will return soon, but said playing in front of an empty stadium is going to take some getting used to.

"There's going to be a weird, eerie silence," Hamels told Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

"It's going to be a weird dynamic for players that are so used to having fans and feeling energy and momentum and knowing what that does. You'll have to learn to control your environment with no noise and no excitement. I think that is going to take practice."

If baseball is going to return in North America amid the coronavirus pandemic, games are most likely going to be played without fans, similar to how the Korean Baseball Organization is handling its season.

Hamels said players shouldn't forget people will likely still be watching at home and that future employment can still be dictated by the season, even if it's shorter than normal.

"We want to distract from what's going on in the real world and give them hope and something to focus on. Because of that, this is probably the biggest tryout of everybody's career, so I think that's where you have to focus on building your own excitement and adrenaline," he said.

"This is a showcase for us. If you're on salary arbitration, if you're a rookie, if you're like me, a one-year contract. This is the biggest showcase at one of the most difficult levels and you don't have that extra boost from the fans, so you're going to have to get it together and do it yourself."

The 36-year-old is set to enter his 15th major-league season and first with the Braves after inking a one-year deal with the team in December.