From the sidelines
By Marty Gordon
Summer means baseball and softball for most young players in the area, but COVID-19 has put a screeching halt to all of that. There are talks to bring the games back in some form or another before the summer is over, but I am scratching my head over some of the recommendations.
Now don’t get me wrong, I know the game as we used to know it will have to change because of health concerns. But some of the rule proposals are really out there.
Take a look at these suggestions.
Umpire: Position the home plate umpire behind the pitcher’s mound or circle at least six feet behind the pitcher.
Catcher: Position the catcher a minimum of six feet behind the batter.
Bases: Consider using two sets of bases, one set for the offensive players to touch as they run the bases and one set six feet behind the offensive base for the defensive players to use for recording outs. At home plate, there will be only one plate.
In the higher leagues, this means bases could be as much as 96 feet apart.
Force outs: All outs will be considered force outs. No tagging of players is allowed.
Dugouts: Only coaches who remain six feet apart are to use them. Players are to be seated on bleachers or spread out down the baselines keeping a distance of six feet apart.
Throwing the ball around the infield: This is prohibited as too many players touch the ball. The ball is to be immediately returned to the pitcher when the play is over.
Baseballs: Baseballs are to be sanitized after each batter. Extra baseballs will be required so play is not delayed. Sanitized baseballs should be kept in the home dugout. All foul balls should be returned to the home dugout for sanitizing.
Equipment: Equipment is not to be shared. This includes bats, batting helmets, gloves, and all catcher’s gear.
Field maintenance: Rakes and tamps are not to be shared and are to be sanitized after each use. All volunteer field maintenance staff should wear protective gloves.
Masks or face coverings: All managers, coaches, umpires, and players should wear protective masks or face coverings.
These are rules being considered across the board from Babe Ruth to Little League, T-ball and coach’s pitch. I have seen most of the lists, and this is the consensus of what must be done to play ball in the next few months.
In most cases, these proposals will drastically affect players, fans and the recreation departments that run the sports. I cannot in my mind see how they can be justified. In many cases, they will change the way youngsters are taught to play the game. In addition, it could cost the organizers a lot of money.
I had hoped it would not come to this, but it has. Where do we go from here?
