MLB temporarily closes clubhouses to media because of coronavirus
Major league baseball is closing clubhouses to media out of an abundance of caution over the coronavirus outbreak.
Only players and essential personnel are allowed to enter locker rooms and clubhouses at MLB facilities, the league announced in a statement. The temporary ban begins Tuesday. All 30 teams are still in the middle of spring training, with half the league in Florida and half the league in the Phoenix area.
“In a joint step with other professional sports leagues, we are requiring that clubs relocate media availabilities to another area in their facilities,” the release read. “Clubs will be expected to provide best efforts in facilitating usual media coverage and access to uniformed personnel and team officials in these alternate settings.”
Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said the club supports the decision. The ban doesn’t only affect media coverage, but vendors and salespersons who often visit teams, especially during spring training.
“We recognize how important fans are to our game and the media is an extension of our fans so we’ll make sure you get the access to our players to do your jobs,” Daniels said. “The media is probably the most-affected from a day to day standpoint, but this is not a media policy. This is a clubhouse policy.”
MLB says it hopes to “resume normal operations as quickly as possible.” The league office held a conference call Monday with all 30 teams.
At the moment, the league says it intends to play spring training and regular season games as scheduled.
“We appreciate the media’s cooperation with this temporary step, which is being taken out of an abundance of caution for the best interests of all,” the statement said. “The health and safety of everyone in our communities is of the utmost importance to us.
“We have been engaging on an ongoing basis with a wide range of public health experts, infectious disease specialists, and governmental agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to obtain the latest information.”
This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 7:00 PM.
