If baseball is going to happen in 2020, it is clear that the safety of the players and coaching staff will be the top priority. As a new 67-page memo sent to the MLB Players Association details, everything from temperature screenings to mask wearing in the dugout to no more communal water and gatorade jugs is on the table.
The list of items is long. The Athletic first reported the details of the memo and is worth a read. Here are just some of the highlights:
Testing
- Regular testing for all players, managers, coaches and umpires, plus a limited number of essential staff members who come into close proximity with players.
- MLB will monitor developments in testing and attempt to use the least invasive and fastest methods commercially available without adversely impacting public health needs.
- The vast majority of tests will be run on saliva collections, though oral or nasal swabs might be used at times. Blood samples will be taken less frequently for antibody testing.
- All players must undergo “intake screening” upon arriving at spring training. The screening will take place at multiple locations and at staggered times. It will consist of a temperature check with a contactless thermometer and body fluid and blood samples.
- For clubs that conduct spring training at major-league parks, workouts should be staggered throughout the day to avoid overcrowding. When feasible, clubs should consider the use of another facility such as a nearby college or minor-league stadium to conduct workouts or games on a split-squad basis.
Spring Training:
- Reporting dates staggered, with camp divided into three phases:
- Individual and small group workouts consisting exclusively of pitchers and catchers. Divided into groups of five players or fewer and assigned different times and areas of the complex.
- Larger groups permitted for workouts and intra-squad games. Still staggered times throughout the day.
- Limited number of games.
Travel
- Teams should control their environments as much as possible. Use of public transportation and individual private transportation — rideshare services like Lyft and Uber — is discouraged.
- Whenever possible, teams are to fly into smaller airports. The league’s desire is for airlines to assign fixed airline crews rather than rotate crews in and out.
- While players will not be officially quarantined, members of the traveling party are not to leave the hotel unless they receive advance approval from team personnel. The only people permitted to visit players’ rooms are immediate family members. Socializing with other family members or friends is discouraged but not entirely prohibited.
- On the road, the players should essentially isolate at hotels, with precautions such as a prohibition on buffet-style meals in place. Luggage will be sent directly to players’ rooms to avoid extra touchpoints, and players will not need to return a key or visit the front desk upon checkout. Meal money should be delivered to players in a form other than cash.
- At teams’ home cities and in spring-training cities, players can stay at their desired locations, as long as they follow best practices such as avoiding public areas.
- MLB plans to develop a COVID-19 education program that all team employees will need to complete before returning to work. Players and umpires are to go through the program as well.
Again, be sure to visit The Athletic and give the article a read. It may seem like a lot, but if baseball (or any sport, for that matter) is going to return in the near future, this seems to be the new normal.
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