Major League Baseball and the Players Association announced there is an agreement on enhanced health and safety protocols for the 2021 season, paving the way for the start of Spring Training this month.
The 2021 protocols will not be the same as last year, although they take the best aspects of those guidelines and add in some new ones based on the current climate of the country and what has worked in other professional sports leagues.
“We were able to complete a successful and memorable 2020 season due to the efforts and sacrifices made by our players, Club staff and MLB employees to protect one another. The 2021 season will require a redoubling of those efforts as we play a full schedule with increased travel under a non-regionalized format,” MLB said in a statement.
“We have built on last year’s productive collaboration between MLB and the Players Association by developing an enhanced safety plan with the consultation of medical experts, infectious disease specialists, and experts from other leagues.
“We all know the commitment it will take from each of us to keep everyone safe as we get back to playing baseball, and these enhanced protocols will help us do it together.”
Among the rules that were in place in 2020 that will be returning this season are seven-inning doubleheaders for games that may be postponed as well as a runner on second base to start extra innings.
As of now, there will be no universal designated hitter in 2021, although that could potentially change before the start of the season.
New 2021 MLB protocols and rules
While a lot of the procedures as far as frequent PCR testing, daily symptom screens and temperature checks will remain the same in 2021, there are some other protocols that will be changing as well.
The first one that will go into effect is intake screening before the start of Spring Training will require a mandatory five-day at-home quarantine. Players and staff members cannot access team facilities until they are cleared after a five-day quarantine.
Another aspect being added is family and household members can now receive voluntary access to coronavirus (COVID-19) testing.
As far as the code of conduct goes, there will be stricter rules in place for this season that prevent players from attending gatherings of 10 or more people while at home, and also from leaving the hotel and interacting with people outside of the team’s traveling party while on the road.
Penalties for those who break the code of conduct will be stricter in 2021, including suspension or forfeiture of salary for days spent away from the team while in mandatory self-isolation or quarantine resulting from the violation.
MLB is also taking something from the NBA, which is the utilization of Kinexon contact tracing devices, which will be worn at all times to help with contact tracing.
On the field, the biggest change will be that active rosters will be going back down from 28 to 26 for the season. Additionally, teams can have up to five players on their taxi squad during road trips, with one needing to be a catcher.
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