Baseball's COVID-19 rules
June 25, 2020 at 5:03AM
Major League Baseball protocols for return to play:
• Players and team personnel will be thoroughly tested before reporting to camp Wednesday.
• Players, coaches and support staff will be tested every other day until the World Series ends. Antibody testing is once per month, and players will have symptom checks twice a day.
• Personnel with temperatures above 100.4 won't be allowed at the ballpark.
• Team personnel and players not in the game will be sitting in the stands at least 6 feet apart.
• Non-playing personnel must wear masks.
• There is no celebratory contact, like high-fives.
• Chewing gum is allowed, but no spitting or chewing tobacco or sunflower seeds.
• Balls will be removed from play after being touched by multiple players.
• Showers for uniformed personnel are allowed, but teams will limit the number of players showering at once.
• Teams can make special provisions for players considered "high risk" because of underlying medical conditions. High risk players can sit out the season and still receive their salary and service time.
• Using public transportation is outlawed.
For positive tests:
• There is a COVID-19 injury list for players who test positive. Any player who tests positive will not be allowed to return until he tests negative twice and gets a doctor's approval to return..
• MLB has the right to relocate teams — in the regular season and postseason — to neutral sites for health and safety reasons.
about the writer
The St. Petersburg City Council reversed course Thursday on whether to spend more than $23 million to repair the hurricane-shredded roof of the Tampa Bay Rays' ballpark, initially voting narrowly for approval and hours later changing course.
