Sunday BP: MLB outlines safety protocol in proposal

Hello and happy Sunday.

As you surely know by now, MLB is fighting like hell to start the 2020 season. The current tentative plan is to begin play sometime in July, which is either sometime next week or sometime next decade, I’m not sure.

In order to resume play, MLB needs to figure out a way to keep players — and the communities the players interact with — safe. Their newest proposal begins to outline some of the ways that they intend to do that.

The Athletic first reported the memo that the league sent out, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan later reported many details, which I recommend reading.

They include:

• Processing more than 10,000 coronavirus tests per week.
• Multiple temperature checks every day for players.
• Free diagnostic and antibody testing for healthcare workers and first responders in every team’s city.
• Players must wear masks except when on the field and performing strenuous activities.
• Players cannot go to restaurants while on the road.
• High fives, fist bumps, tobacco chewing, and sunflower seed spitting prohibited.

Many remain skeptical as to how practical this all is, but it’s clear that the league is doing everything they can to try and get baseball back. We’ll see if it works.

Did Barry Bonds hit a home run today?

What do you think?

May 17, 1993: Against the Houston Astros, Bonds hit a 2-run home run in the 7th inning off of Xavier Hernandez, scoring Will Clark. It tied the game 7-7, and the Giants would win 8-7 in 10 innings. It was his 10th home run of the year.

May 17, 1994: Against the Houston Astros, Bonds hit 2 home runs. First was a 2-run shot in the 4th inning off of Pete Harnisch, which scored Matt Williams and gave the Giants a 2-1 lead. Willie McGee made it back-to-back homers. Next was a solo shot in the 8th inning off of Dave Veres, which gave the Giants a 5-2 lead, which ended up being the final score. They were his 10th and 11th homers of the year.

May 17, 1995: Against the Chicago Cubs, Bonds hit a 2-run home run in the 7th inning off of Kevin Foster, scoring Robby Thompson. It gave the Giants a 2-1 lead, which was the final score. It was his 3rd home run of the year.

May 17, 2001: Against the Florida Marlins, Bonds hit a 2-run home run in the 3rd inning off of Chuck Smith, scoring Marvin Benard. It gave the Giants a 3-0 lead, but they would lose 8-3. It was his 16th homer of the year.

Have a tremendous Sunday, everyone.