Giants' Kapler: No spitting during games will be 'tremendous challenge'

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San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler believes that MLB's proposed player-safety protocols - which include no spitting, smokeless tobacco, and sunflower seeds in certain areas during contests - will be tough to follow if the 2020 season begins amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"When the game begins, I start with some coffee, it's part of my routine," Kapler said Monday on KNBR. "I quickly transition to gum - lots of gum, not just a couple pieces, a lot of gum. I don't like the sweetness, but I like the size of the gum. My normal behavior is I spit a lot of the gum juice out.

He added: "From there I transition to seeds. Sunflower seeds in the middle of the game. As much as you can fit in your both - you're just spitting the seeds on the ground. I'm not alone. So many players, staff have routines like the one I just described. Different, but similar. They're all going to have to stop those routines. That is going to be a tremendous challenge."

Kapler did acknowledge that while breaking habits won't be easy, especially during pressure-filled moments, doing so will be key to resuming the season.

"Everybody's going to be committed to doing it because it's so worth it," the 44-year-old skipper said. "The trade-off between giving up that habit and getting to play baseball, we'll play baseball all day long."