Baseball Saskatchewan has released their Return to Train & Play Protocol, and things are going to be quite a bit different than what fans are used to in the sport when things resume.
The first and most obvious question is ‘when’.
The current plan sees Baseball Sask following all protocols in place as part of Re-Open Saskatchewan, meaning nothing will happen until Phase 4 and large outdoor gatherings are allowed. Even then, they’re taking a cautious approach, opening up in two phases of their own.
Phase 1 will mark the Return to Train date, which will include all that entails – evaluations, practices, team meetings and the like, with no games allowed. Phase 2 will mark the first games of the season.
First and foremost are the universal bans that will cover both phases, and they’re as stringent as one might imagine.
- No sharing of water bottles or food of any kind;
- No spitting, chewing gum or sunflower seeds;
- No sharing of personal helmets;
- No sharing of catcher’s gear unless disinfected between personal uses;
- No sharing of any other equipment unless disinfected between personal uses;
That’s all on top of constant mass disinfecting of all balls, bats, and so on.
Then there’s the mandatory physical distancing, which will bring the largest visible change.
All players and coaches must remain at least two metres (six feet) from one another, including in dugouts. The example in the Return to Play plan said that if a dugout is 20 feet long, no more than four people could be on the bench at once, and each must stay six feet away from one another.
No team huddles will be allowed, one team on the field at a time, and no visiting between fields are some of the other measures.
Phase 2 marks the official return to games and will come deep into Phase 4 of Re-Open Saskatchewan – a time when almost every business and organization will have opened, and gatherings of more than 30 are allowed outdoors.
In addition to the Phase 1 requirements, a host of game-specific rules will be in place.
Any interactions between coaches and players must take place with six feet of distancing, including mound visits. Umpires will be able to work behind the plate with no contact with the catcher, or can go old-school and call the game from behind the pitcher if that’s more comfortable.
And if you want to argue an umpire’s call, make sure you stay six feet away. Any closer, and it will mean a suspension for the remainder of the season.
It’s expected that travel between communities will not be allowed, meaning games will be exclusively house league and intra-community leagues.
For a full rundown of the litany of rules and regulations that will be in place once baseball restarts in Saskatchewan, be sure to click here.
