Major League Baseball announced an agreement with the Players Association on Tuesday on the new health-and-safety protocols for the 2021 season. It was a necessary step for the season to begin as scheduled.
The protocols adopt “current best practices in addition to those in place during the successful 2020 season and reflects the recommendations of the parties’ consulting medical experts and infectious disease specialists,” according to MLB’s news release.
Under the agreement, COVID-19 testing has been expanded and includes voluntary testing for family and household members of covered individuals. Players will wear contract tracing devices in team facilities, during travel and workouts. Masks are required to be worn while in team facilities and dugout. Each team will have a “Facemask Enforcement Officer” to best ensure compliance. Mental health and well-being resources will be provided to players and staff throughout the season.
Among the on-field highlights of the agreement: Seven-inning doubleheaders are back. The placement of a runner at second base in extra innings is back. Active rosters will feature 26 players and expand to 28 players in September.
Braves manager Brian Snitker repeatedly endorsed seven-inning doubleheaders and the new extra-innings rule when they were implemented last season. Both rules make for less wear and tear on pitchers, at the least, which Snitker supported. The Braves went 5-1 in shortened doubleheader games in 2020. They went 2-3 in extra innings, with their longest game spanning 12 frames.
Tuesday’s announcement doesn’t rule out an eventual adoption of the universal designated hitter or an expanded playoff field, both of which were part of the 60-game 2020 season. MLB and the Players Association could still reach another agreement ahead of opening day to include those changes, though there isn’t an indication that’s likely at this time.
For now, the National League will follow traditional rules with pitchers slated to hit. The universal DH is expected to be part of the next collective bargaining agreement — the current edition expires in December — so if the sport proceeds under the current circumstances, this probably will be the final season pitchers must hit.
The expanded postseason is a controversial topic. Snitker was less enthusiastic about a bigger field, saying in December that a full 162-game season, rather than the shorter 2020 version, “will take care of a lot of that.” In 2020, eight teams qualified for the postseason in each league. Currently, MLB’s playoff field would feature three division winners and two wild cards (that will face off in a one-game playoff) in each league.
