Major League Baseball Hits a Foul Ball on Mask Guidelines

By Diego Garcia III |Editor of The Brownsville Beacon

After the CDC's announcement relaxing mask and social distancing restrictions for fully vaccinated people this past Thursday, Major League Baseball released a statement saying all Minor League Baseball teams no longer had to have plexiglass barriers in place between the players and the fans and they could now go back to selling premium seats that are closer to the players. These seats had been off limits to the fans during COVID restrictions.

They also said the mask requirement would be lifted and the respective teams should follow local guidelines on mask wearing.

Reaction was swift.

I love baseball. I follow several teams on social media, including the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Minor League Baseball teams are famous for their quirky mascots), a Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels located in Madison, Alabama released the following statement on their Facebook page:

"Effective immediately, Major League Baseball will no longer require fans to wear face coverings at Minor League Baseball venues. Starting tonight, masks are not required when visiting Toyota Field. We have also removed the plexiglass buffers in front of the dugouts and bullpens. 

We thank our fans for their patience and understanding!"

Notice the statement doesn't say "fully vaccinated fans," it just says "fans."

It isn't surprising, as the Trash Pandas play in Alabama, the "Heart of Dixie" as one native Alabaman pointed out to me when he was arguing with me that Alabama was farther south than Texas the other day, and the rubiest red of red srates. I'm sure there are plenty of anti-maskers and anti-COVID vaxxers who love the idea of no longer having to wear masks.

After commenting on their page, I was swiftly met with the "if you don't like it, then don't go" reply. What an absolutely selfish and arrogant thing to say.

But once again, this mandate, mask wearing, and social distancing isn't about personal choice, it's about public safety.

It's sad Major League Baseball would do this. I haven't checked what the Corpus Christi Hooks or any of the other teams are deciding to do. I hope some teams are more rational and at least limit lifting the mask mandate for fully vaccinated fans, although what's stopping a fan from just saying "yeah, sure, I'm vaccinated, let me in."

The President of the United States, the heads of the CDC, Major League Baseball, and Minor League Baseball dropped the ball on this call.

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