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Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press
Major League Baseball and its players’ association have reportedly reached an agreement regarding health and safety protocols for the coming season.
Joel sherman of New York Post reported the news on Monday and Noted the pact includes doubles in seven innings as there were in the 2020 campaign. There will also still be additional modified innings with runners starting at second in an effort to prevent marathon games during the regular season.
There won’t be a Universal Designated Hitter like there was last season.
The fact that a deal is apparently in place in February is a drastic improvement over last year, when the two sides debated for months on a number of topics, including the length of the season, whether Player contracts would be prorated, how many teams would make the playoffs and whether the National League would also use designated hitters.
It wasn’t until June 23 that the MLBPA ad the two teams had come to an agreement for a 60-game season.
While the COVID-19 pandemic was undoubtedly a complicating factor in last year’s negotiations, the extended back and forth trips delayed the season even further and caused a great deal of frustration.
As for this year’s deal, Hannah keyser of Yahoo Sports noted that the union was in favor of the universal designate hitter while the league was not.
The league said it was not a health and safety issue. One of the likely reasons the union would want to extend the DH rule is that it would create more job opportunities.
Sherman also reported that there would be tracing technology in place that is similar to what the NBA uses to help identify close contacts if there is a positive COVID-19 test.
At the start of the season, the Los Angeles Dodgers will look to defend the World Series title they’ve won in six games against the Tampa Bay Rays.
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