NEW YORK -- Over the last several months, Zack Britton has been asked frequently about the events of April 29, 2015, when his Orioles hosted the White Sox in a closed-admission game at Camden Yards. He hoped it was an experience never to be repeated, but now the reliever can provide valuable insight to his Yankees teammates about what lies ahead.

With empty ballparks expected to be the norm when the 2020 regular season begins later this month, Britton said that he believes whoever leads the league in self-motivation will finish on top.

“I honestly do believe that it might not be the most talented team this year,” Britton said Friday. “I think it's going to be the guys that can come to the ballpark and not be relying on the adrenaline that the atmosphere would give you in that environment. They need to be able to self-motivate and accomplish what they want to accomplish. I truly believe it's going to be that team this year that wins it.”

Back in 2015, Britton’s Orioles were unable to open the ballpark gates due to civil unrest in Baltimore. The game was played in a brisk two hours and three minutes, and Britton described an unusual atmosphere as he warmed up in the bullpen. Once he entered to seal the O’s 8-2 victory, Britton snapped to attention when Melky Cabrera lashed the first pitch foul, then heard the booming voice of play-by-play announcer Gary Thorne with each delivery.

“I was conscious of it the entire time,” Britton said. “I'm not sure what the situation’s like this year, but I think if that's the case, there's going to be no way that you can avoid it. You're going to do your best to block it out. Who knows how many games we're going to play in front of no fans? I think it's something that you'll be able to adjust to at some point, but initially I think it's going to be a challenge for guys.”

Managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said this week that he expects to see fans admitted into Yankee Stadium at some point this season, telling the YES Network that the club has plans to begin at “20 to 30 percent” of capacity when cleared. In 2019, the Yanks’ largest announced regular-season crowd was 48,101 for an Aug. 3 contest against the Red Sox.

“I think we all hope that we can have fans in the stands in some capacity at some point,” Britton said.

Until that happens, Britton said that he believes the Yankees have the mental muscle to provide their own home-field advantage.

“I do believe that we have the guys that can do it,” Britton said. “We have guys that have played at a top level for a long time. The more I've been around those type of players, the more I realize that those are the guys that can self-motivate, the guys that can maintain a performance level throughout the course of the season at a high level.”

Britton tossed a bullpen and completed testing on Friday. The nine-year big league vet said that it was a "different” experience to wear a mask in the clubhouse, unable to congregate with teammates due to social-distancing measures.

“As we go forward, it'll be a little bit more comfortable to wear the mask every day, all day, and to give people their space,” Britton said. “We're just so used to being in close proximity to each other throughout the season; we all sit next to each other in the locker room, things like that. It's going to be an adjustment period, but I was just excited to be back in Yankee Stadium with my teammates. It's been a long time.”