The idea of wearing masks, much like the one Jeremy Pena made in the fourth inning last night’s World Series match, should be long forgotten.
Major League Baseball disagrees. There are some postseason rules that only apply to media members. Journalists must wear masks whenever they enter any team’s clubhouse. However, this mandate was not applicable to players. Evidently, COVID-19 was only spread by the media.
This is only one of the many confusing, contradictory masking rules that have been in place since 2020.
Take into account the requirements to be admitted to team clubhouses. These guidelines say that media members must be current with all vaccinations, including booster shots, to be allowed to enter a clubhouse during the 2022 Postseason. These media members are required to wear masks while in the clubhouse or in Interview Rooms.
These rules weren’t strictly enforced and many people didn’t wear them. While some people complied with the rules, others wore masks under their noses and chins. It was absurd to even require masks. It was bureaucratic absurdity without any legitimate purpose. This is a sign of the bizarre cultural divide that masks have bizarrely created.
It is absurd for MLB to have such rules, two years after the COVID-19 pandemic started and months after almost all mask mandates were dropped in the country. These rules were put in place to prevent any spread. But, it is absurd that only the media must wear them. If we still trust the science, then both players and journalists should wear masks. Or perhaps neither.
Additionally, if these rules are not enforced, what’s the point? No one from MLB will ask anyone to show proof of vaccination at the Philadelphia National League Championship Games or World Series games. To see the absence of compliance with wearing masks, one only has to look at interviews with players in the clubhouse.
MLB’s rules are like many other mask mandates across the country. They do nothing and serve only public relations purposes. The clubhouse mask requirement is not justified, especially if it applies only to media. While protecting people’s health is one thing; nonsensical, illogical rules regarding masks, especially in November 20,22, are another.
