Yesterday afternoon, Baseball Ontario released its draft “Return to Baseball Protocols”. Among other things, the 11-page proposal explains in full detail how to properly protect and clean our balls in the event we do return to play this year.
Don’t worry though, you don’t have to read the whole thing; I, Shaun Keay, took it upon myself to go through the whole thing with a fine tooth comb and summarize this “Sanitizer Sutra” for you. You’re welcome.
- if you’ve been on your butt for months, maybe try not to do too much too fast
- if you don’t feel safe playing, don’t play
- whatever number Ontario sets as the max group, Is the guideline we will follow as the max attendees to the field (including players, umps, and fans)
- If the limit is set to <= 100, each player gets only 1 non-participant in the stands
- coaches will keep attendance of gatherings, and provide it to the Association within 24hrs, who then pass it on to Baseball Ontario
- don’t car pool
- if you’re ‘at risk’, maybe be smart about the decisions you make
- do a self-assessment (https://covid-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/) before each gathering, and stay home if you fail it
- each team must have soap+water or 70%+ alcohol sanitizer and disinfectant wipes at all times
- clean and disinfect your shit regularly with a microfiber cloth
- stay 2 meters away from any staff cleaning the general areas
- batting gloves do not count as PPE gloves
- maybe don’t share equipment
- wipe your own balls before and after
- wash your hands regularly
- don’t touch your face
- also don’t touch yourself
- minimum 45 minutes between games. previous team can sanitize areas and dispose garbage before next team arrives to then clean/sanitize area
- there may be a drop dead/no new innings rule so minimum 45 minutes is maintained
- clean your own dugout
- stay in your car until everyone from the previous game has left
- If you like gambling, you can just use the public washrooms
- no spitting. no seeds. no gum. no sharing
- no handshakes. no high fives. no chest bumps. no make out sessions.
- pregame-stay in your own half in the outfield
- pregame-one team on the infield at a time
- pregame-1 coach each and 1 umpire for plate meeting
- line up cards still prepared, but not physically shared. Take a picture if you wish.
- balls sanitized at end of each defensive inning
- defensive team controls game balls while they are on defense
- defensive team will chase down fouls
- don’t spit on your balls
- appointed personnel with PPE will mud rub balls
- team rep (16+ yrs old) will fetch bats while wearing gloves
- batting gloves are not PPE gloves, geez
- team rep better sanitize hands at end of each half inning
- don’t share equipment, including catcher’s masks and jock straps
- can use a safety base at first, but not mandatory – determined by home team
- home ump to be 2 meters behind pitcher. wait what?
- umps wont handle balls
- if you touch a ball, use sanitizer at the end of the half inning
- don’t lick your fingers. don’t lick yourself
- don’t blow on your hands. don’t blow yourself
- older leagues may adopt the rule to prohibit lead-offs
- tags allowed, but defensive player must immediately scramble to maintain safe distance
- maintain distance on mound visits, no fondling
- use PPE when assessing injuries
- get too close to the ump, and you’ll be ejected
FYI– The actual Return to Baseball draft can be found here:
Download Draft Return to Baseball Protocol (June 3, 2020)
Regards,
Shaun Keay