YA GOTTA PLAY BY THE RULES!
Player responsibility is key to successful MLB season during coronavirus outbreak
If Major League Baseball players want to be included in the highly unusual 2020 season, they will be responsible for several new codes of conduct. Flipping the airplane toilet seat down before flushing, wearing masks for the duration of flights, cleaning armrests and headrests with disinfectant wipes and being prohibited from eating or drinking at the same time as anyone else in the row are just some of MLB's travel protocols in the ongoing pandemic world.
So much of the longevity of the upcoming season will depend on individual player responsibility. Those last three words may sound like something out of a new-hire employee handbook, but that's sort of how teams should be treating this season. It's a recognizable sport, with new rules, and the consequences of careless actions are life and death.
Those around the industry are fearful that a 60-game season is too long in the face of the pandemic. The country's COVID-19 numbers are alarming as the United States mightily struggles to flatten the curve amid face-mask protesters and hasty reopening plans that border on reckless and impulsive.
Already, an indefinite number of players from at least eight teams have tested positive for the virus. The Phillies' plight is the worstcase scenario, where a COVID-19 cluster infected seven players and led Major League Baseball to shut down all 30 spring training facilities in Florida and Arizona for deep cleaning. The Blue Jays, Astros, Diamondbacks, Indians, Rockies, Twins and Rangers are other known teams with positive cases on their player or employee staffs.
That's nearly one-third of the entire league with work forces who have tested positive for the virus, and summer camp workouts have yet to begin.
This is why the league is heavily depending on player responsibility. Players with families and kids in high-risk households, either through exposure to immunocompromised individuals or elderly relatives, are expected to be the most cautious and take MLB's coronavirus protocols with sobriety. Some players, like Nationals veteran first baseman Ryan Zimmermann, may even opt out of the season entirely for those reasons.
“At the end of the day, does a player feel comfortable going to the field every day and — in my case, more importantly — feel comfortable coming home every day and feel like they're not putting anyone else in danger?” Zimmerman wrote Thursday in a running diary for the Associated Press. “I am by no means someone who thinks we all need to hide in our houses until a vaccine is found. That's not feasible for anybody. We just need to do things in a sensible, smart way.”
Doing things in a sensible and smart way will involve a ton of attention to details small and large by the players. Included in the league's new 101-page Operations Manual for 2020 are procedures like staggered workouts so players can maintain six feet of space in the workout room at all times, personal tablets instead of going into video replay rooms, hand sanitizers in dugouts and leaning on the dugout railing only if there is a towel laid down.
Players are allowed to stay at home with their families during home series, and the language around players leaving hotels on the road has been relaxed. Originally, the health-and-safety document said players “may not leave the club's hotel.” Now, it says players “should avoid leaving the club's hotel for non-essential purposes.” Sneaking out to have a few drinks at a nearby bar or restaurant is a non-essential activity. It will be up to the players to honor that rule.
Being alert and remembering to follow through on all of these exhaustive protocols, plus many more, will entirely be up to the individual player. No, there won't be a spit inspector roaming the field to deliver a warning every time a player unintentionally spits out of pure habit. There also won't be a private eye traveling with teams to make sure they're using the bathroom correctly.
Teams are made up of adult men who are expected to do the right thing, and the health and endurance of the 2020 season depends on players being more careful off the field than on it. This will require a great deal of unity and social responsibility. It's not as simple as coming together to tweet the words “when and where” to apply pressure on MLB owners to start the season. It's also not as difficult or meaningful as the millions of essential health care workers putting their lives on the line to treat COVID-19 patients.
When we look back on these unusual times, we won't be thanking professional baseball players for their efforts in combating the coronavirus or saving lives. And yet, their actions will be critical.
Yes, players will be asked to perform seemingly banal tasks like daily temperature
tests, but they’re recommended in order to keep families and communities safe, while ensuring that we actually get to the postseason in October without clubs suspending operations or worse, the league realizing that the risk is not worth the reward.
With player responsibility comes a lot of pressure, and those who will opt out of playing in 2020 should not be denounced. Mental health is crucial every year, but even more significant during the pandemic. Nearly 1 in 5 American adults live with a mental illness, according to a 2019 report by the National Institute of Mental Health. A recent report from John Hopkins medicine estimates 26% of Americans ages 18 and older — about 1 in 4 adults — suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.
MLB players are not immune from these statistics. The pandemic has disrupted lives and increased anxiety and depression. MLB offers a confidential 24/7 hotline to major league players and their families, where individuals can “text or call the helpline with concerns, questions or to simply talk about parenting, dating, relationships and more.” There is no limit to the number of texts or calls, and people who contact the helpline can share as much or as little of their question or concern as they want.
“This is a period of time where anxiety disorders, and anxiety in general, is prevalent everywhere,” said one NL executive. “There are some players that will definitely be dealing with that, and most likely it will be silently. Hopefully that’s not the case and more players reach out or talk about it.”
The public, clubs, teammates, stadium workers, team staff and front-office officials will have to trust that players, who are placing themselves in risky situations, will follow through on a myriad of protocols that have been employed to keep each other safe. Player responsibility is the key to a successful season and should not be taken lightly. This is bigger than baseball.