Major League Baseball (MLB) will eliminate regular tests of Covid-19 for everyone except symptomatic people and will uphold the decision to move the venue games if the public health situation deteriorates in a certain location, under the new Covid-19 protocols that will govern the 2022 season.
According to the Associated Press, some issues on the field have yet to be addressed, such as whether to continue the 2020 rule of automatically placing a runner on second base in extra innings.
“MLB has the right during the championship season to relocate clubs to neutral sites, spring training sites or home ballparks of other clubs, and/or reschedule games included in the 2022 championship season schedule, if necessary.” necessary, for health/safety reasons, to comply with government restrictions, or to complete the program,” reads the 18-page protocol cited by the agency.
MLB will postpone games only if necessary to protect the health and safety of club staff, players and officials, but will not postpone games for competitive reasons as long as the club has a sufficient number of players available to replace those players on active rosters that are unavailable to play as a result of contracting the virus.
The protocols are less strict than during the last two seasons, as the requirement to wear wristbands like the ones used last year will be waived and players will only be tested at the start of the campaign and then only if they show signs or symptoms. report symptoms. Mask use in dugouts was eased during the 2021 season when teams reached 85% vaccination.
This 2022, uniformed personnel “are not required to wear masks while on the field, dugouts and bullpens”, the same applies to “charters, trains and buses”. However, in closed venues such as clubhouses and halls Weightlifters must wear approved face coverings “if required by applicable laws or regulations in that jurisdiction.”
If a team places a significant number of players on the Covid-19 disabled list or on restricted lists due to inability to enter Canada due to vaccination status, and the commissioner determines that it “implies a club’s ability to present a competitive team,” then the franchise will be able to “temporarily add substitute players to its active Major League roster.”
Those sent back to the minors will not be considered an optional or absolute release. Each team can have up to five ‘taxi squad’ players, including a catcher.
Vaccinated members of the media can access locker rooms, this will mark the first time reporters have been allowed in locker rooms since spring training 2020. In addition, children of players can be on the field at times designated by the teams.
The World Classic and international games return
Two of the innovations introduced in the new collective bargaining agreement between the owners and the players is the return of the World Baseball Classic in 2023, although the venues have not been specified. The event that brings together the best Major League Baseball players was originally scheduled for March 2021, but was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The agreement of MLB It also shaped its game schedule outside the United States and for the next four years plans to hold games in Mexico City, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, among other destinations in Europe and Asia. The first international clashes would be in the 2022 postseason in Korea and Taiwan. The Mexican capital will host regular season games in the month of May from 2023 to 2026. While Paris would host Major League duels for the first time in its history in June 2025.
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