When Cactus League and local government officials in Arizona asked Major League Baseball to consider postponing the start of spring training, due to the high rate of COVID-19 infection in the state, it looked like baseball might have a delay to the 2021 campaign. The Grapefruit League and Florida officials did not make similar requests, but the state of Florida apparently decided that COVID-19 is largely an inconvenient myth, rather than a reality of public health, which is why 25,000 people flooded into Raymond James Stadium for Super Bowl LV on Sunday. However, the MLBPA rejected a proposal by MLB to move the start of the season back a month, in large part because the proposal gave commissioner Rob Manfred additional powers with respect to canceling games, so all signs are moving toward a normal schedule…for now.
Check out the latest updates as you consider your MLB betting on the national pastime.
MLB News: COVID-19 Update (February 10 Edition)
Players are encouraged to get vaccines…but they do not have to
Both the MLBPA and MLB will encourage players to get COVID-19 vaccines, whether they are currently eligible, based on state guidelines, or after the national vaccine supply grows to the point where the players can receive them without a pre-existing health condition.
Contact tracing is in full effect
Players will have to have Kinexon wristbands on when they are at team facilities to make contact tracing possible if a positive test comes up. If they have to miss days due to quarantining because they failed to follow safety and health protocols, then they will be fined their game checks for days missed. Players will have to self-quarantine for five days before showing up to spring training, and they will go through an intake process that involves COVID-19 testing once they get to Arizona or Florida. A lot of the same rules from 2020 are still in place such as a ban on gatherings of 10 or more people, dining indoors, going to lounges or bars (even if they serve food), and a requirement to have permission to leave team hotels while the team is traveling.
Spring training games will look different
Between February 27 and March 13, managers can agree to play games of five or seven innings, instead of nine innings. Pitchers will be allowed to re-enter the game, and it will also be permitted to end innings before the third out. Between March 14 and the end of spring training, games will run a full nine innings unless both managers agree to play seven.
Video terminal access during the games will also not be allowed, a nod to the problems that the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal caused. Players will be able to watch clips from their prior at-bats, but they will not be able to look at the catchers’ signs.
Changes for the regular season
In 2020, a couple of changes took effect that will once again be on the slate for 2021. When teams have to play doubleheaders, both games will last seven innings. Also, if games go to extra innings, the team up to bat will have a runner on second base. However, the designated hitter, which had become universal in 2020, will revert just to the American League for this season. Also, the postseason will return from 16 teams to just 10.
In 2020, 78 games went to extra innings. The longest games were a pair of 13-inning affairs. That was the first time since 1901 that no extra-inning game had gone to at least 15 innings. Having that runner on second clearly worked to shorten games. The 2020 schedule saw 45 postponements of games due to COVID-19, and 43 of those were made up. That meant that there were 56 doubleheaders, the most since 1984, when 76 occurred (it is worth noting that teams used to schedule doubleheaders; they were not solely used for makeups, as has become almost the norm in MLB).
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