The greatest challenge now will be staying healthy enough to play 60 games over 66 days.
With the season set to officially commence on July 23 or July 24, MLB released its 2020 Operations Manual of more than 100 pages, including guidelines from washing hands, to where players can shower, to banning hotel swimming pools, to restricted to room service, to even standing (or kneeling) for the national anthem.
Players have been instructed to report to their team’s home ballpark by July 1, with spring training to commence July 3, but please, don’t all show up at once. All players must undergo an immediate temperature check and two COVID-19 tests — a diagnostic PCR test and a blood-drawn antibody test.
Players then must be quarantine for 24 to 48 hours awaiting the test results. And as long as they’ll be sitting around during their quarantine, they’ll be required to complete a COVID-19 educational course before they can begin workouts.
The pitchers will report first, and then the position players a few days.
Players won’t even have the same lockers. Maybe not even the same locker room. All lockers must be six feet apart from one another, meaning some will be in the home clubhouse, others in the visitor’s clubhouse, some in the umpires’ room, others simply in the stadium workers cafeteria.
Spring training will be divided into three phases, starting with individual and small groups, full team workouts, and then no more than three spring-training games.
Once the season starts:
Players, who will be prohibited from entering the stadium if their temperature is above 100.4, will have their temperature and symptoms checked at least twice a day. They will have saliva tests every other day. And once per month, players will be given antibody tests.
There will be no lounging in the clubhouse. Players can’t come earlier than five hours before game time. They must leave 90 minutes after the game. There’s no buffet, only pre-packaged food. And no showers. MLB would prefer players shower back at the hotel.
When players walk onto the field, they must stay six feet away from everyone. That means teammates, coaches and opponents. The fraternization rule that has been ignored for decades now will be strictly enforced.
When the game starts, not everyone can sit in the dugout. Some of the players will have to sit in the stands, spaced out between not only seats, but entire rows. There will be no fans anyway.
And no more spitting. Tobacco is forbidden. Players can chew, but not sunflower seeds. Gum is permitted, but they can’t spit it out.
Pitchers are not allowed to lick their fingers. They can carry a wet rag in their pocket, but no licking.
And no batboy or batgirl to pick up a hitter’s bat. They’re on their own.
ALSO: The days of mobbing players at home plate, dumping coolers of Gatorade, and shoving pies in their face, are over.
