To spit or not to spit: How different will MLB look in a post-coronavirus world?
It’s been a staple on the diamond since the dawn of baseball.
A pitcher stands upright on the mound, his eyes fixated on his catcher. Slightly, he turns his head and saliva shoots like a broken bidet, quickly mixing the dirt with his saliva. Is it pretty? No. But it’s baseball, and a strange part of it happens to be the spit that comes along with it.
But COVID-19 may change all that when the season starts.
MLB and the Players Association spoke this week about the new safety protocols that are being explored for baseball to return. A variety of issues were discussed — including discouraging players from spitting, no more Uber rides to the ballpark, and nixing the high-fives, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
In South Korea, spitting has been banned by the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO); games air six times a week on ESPN.
“I want someone to find me a game in history,” Dan Straily, a pitcher for the Lotte Giants in the KBO, told The Dallas Morning News, “where baseball players did not spit on the field.”
Even though it tends to be a habit that’s deemed “gross” to some, it comes along with the sport.
Former Texas Rangers infielder Michael Young said to the Dallas Morning News that “if you love baseball, the thing that comes attached to it is that you’re a disgusting human being. The minute we put on the uniform, we become the Hulk.”
It was also reported that locker rooms, dugouts and bullpens will be arranged differently to enforce social distancing. On the field, relief pitchers who are not warming up in the bullpen could be sitting in the empty seats fans once occupied in the stands.
USA Today reported some of the rules being discussed and said that MLB prepared an “80- to 100-page document addressing safety and health protocols” and is “committed to protecting its players during the pandemic.”
That is, if they reach an agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association over salaries.
If an accord is made, baseball is expected to resume spring training in June with the regular season starting the first week of July.
According to CBS Sports, here are some major items that are included in MLB’s proposal:
“82-game regional schedule and universal DH”
“30-man active rosters with a 20-player taxi squad”
“14 teams in the postseason with games played in home cities in October”
“50/50 revenue split for players and owners”
Baseball could have a different feel this season, but it will be worth it to be able to witness sports on our TV screens sometime soon.
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 5:06 PM with the headline "To spit or not to spit: How different will MLB look in a post-coronavirus world?."