Toronto Blue Jays General Manager Ross Atkins said Tuesday the first time he saw Sahlen Field was when he was a minor leaguer in the Cleveland Indians system in 1997. He was a regular here as the Indians' farm director in 2006-2008.

But Atkins was stunned by what he saw Monday night as he drove on the I-190 to meet his players and staff for their first look at the Blue Jays' temporary home this summer.

"I've known this facility for a long time but the biggest mouth-opening, jaw-dropping experience I had was seeing it from the highway," Atkins said on a media Zoom call a few hours before the game against the Miami Marlins. "What they did to brand it and make it feel like the Toronto Blue Jays' home, it really is kind of jaw-dropping to see the significant different."

Atkins said he was particularly pleased to see how the Blue Jays and MLB staff paid attention to social distancing protocols.

"The thoughtfulness around maximizing the space in just how much room players have to move is something. It is the best socially distant space I've seen yet," he said. "And now I've seen Toronto, Washington, Atlanta, Tampa, Boston. And Boston did a great job.

"Having seen Boston really helped us here I think. It helped us think about things a little bit differently. The way they were challenged (in Fenway Park) is similar to the way we were challenged here."

"My reaction was awesome. That's the word I"m going to use," manager Charlie Montoyo said on a separate call later in the day. "I've been coming here for so many years and just the difference, how pleased the players are and how happy they are with everything. They did a great job. Credit ... to all the group. It's an awesome job."

"We were all walking around and talking about how we could not recognize the place," first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. told ESPN.com earlier in the day at the Marriott Harborcenter. Guerrero was among a group of players who took some batting practice under the lights late Monday.

"We all marveled at the clubhouse size and the field conditions, even at all the changes in the colors," Guerrero said. "It looks nothing like the ballpark I played in a few years ago. Looks nothing like a minor league ballpark now. And it's just nice to have a home." 

Atkins said he was impressed with the branding throughout the ballpark, with Blue Jays logos, colors and motivational messages filling the service level.

"I feel that way and I'm pretty sure our players do, that when they came here they didn't recognize it," he said. "That was a good feeling for me."

Pitcher Nate Pearson, who will start here Wednesday, played three games last year for the Bisons and was floored by the differences.

"It feels like I'm in a totally different stadium. They did a really good job," Pearson said. "Everything is nice, clean, spacious. We've got everything we need here. Some of the guys that were skeptical about it after seeing the place, they're all pumped up and ready to go. I think we're going to have a lot of success here and we're all looking forward to it."

The Jays' staff had a relatively small footprint to deal with for an MLB park and Atkins was impressed with the creativity they showed in repurposing spaces.

"They were able to use this facility to make sure we were safe and have all the resources a major-league player is going to need to prepare and ultimately play and recover and have those things they're accustomed to having," he said. "We wanted to make sure we could do that. I feel very good about the decision (to come to Buffalo). I felt good about it when we made it and I feel very good about it as we sit here today ready to open."

How did he gauge the players' reaction Monday night?

"The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive," Atkins said. "There are smiles on guys' faces. Seemingly, guys are appreciative at the amount of work, the attention to detail, thoughts on using the space in a safe way and also in a productive way. Guys feel that they have what they need to compete at the highest level."

"I was actually concerned about everything because of course it's not a big-league ballpark but the job they did here is amazing," Montoyo said. "It feels like a big-league ballpark right now. Everything is great. 'Toronto Blue Jays' everywhere and the players are happy and pleased so that means a lot to me."

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