Grounds crew workers Jacob Weiderstrom, left, and Marcus Gignac pull a tarp off home plate as they continue to keep the Seattle Mariners' field in playing shape as the ballpark goes into its seventh week without baseball played because of the coronavirus outbreak Monday, May 11, 2020, in Seattle. A person familiar with the decision tells The Associated Press that Major League Baseball owners have given the go-ahead to making a proposal to the players' union that could lead to the coronavirus-delayed season starting around the Fourth of July weekend in ballparks without fans. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - The baseball players' association gave management a wide-ranging response Thursday to a 67-page proposed set of protocols for a season to be played during the coronavirus pandemic.
Management had presented the union and the 30 teams the proposed draft last Friday.
The union said Thursday it addressed: protections for high-risk players, access to pre- and postgame therapies, testing frequency, protocols for positive tests, in-stadium medical personnel and sanitization procedures.
Players viewed many of the concepts in the original draft as over-the-top, such as arriving in uniform at the ballparks, a prohibition on them leaving without team permission and a ban on guests other than immediate family members. Players also objected to a ban on the use of showers and hydrotherapy.
The union wants more frequent testing than management's proposed 'œmultiple times per week.'ť
MLB is expected to make an economic proposal to the union within a few days. MLB hopes to start the season by early July.
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FILE - In this July 4, 2019, file photo, an American Flag is unfurled in the outfield during the playing of the National Anthem before the start a baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers in Chicago. Major League Baseball owners gave the go-ahead Monday, May 11, 2020, to making a proposal to the players' union that could lead to the coronavirus-delayed season starting around the Fourth of July weekend in ballparks without fans, a plan that envisioned expanding the designated hitter to the National League for 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Black, File)
The Associated Press