Baseball Sask. waiting for government approval to resume playing

Baseball Saskatchewan released its return-to-play protocols on Tuesday with hopes of convincing the province to include the sport in the provincial reopening plan.

Much of the 12-page plan details a series of changes that largely revolve around sanitizing of equipment and facilities, as well as added rules for distancing.

Even with all of the added precaution, sanctioned baseball events in Saskatchewan need provincial approval to resume activities.

Baseball Sask. executive director Mike Ramage is starting to wonder why baseball is being omitted from reopening plans as restaurants, beaches and playgrounds are permitted to reopen.

“It’s kind of a tough pill to swallow,” Ramage said.

“The potential logic of it doesn’t make sense to us when we’re going to be outdoors and not really crowded in an indoor facility that doesn’t really allow for social distancing. Obviously the outdoor stuff would and we’re kind of wishing we would have been on that list to open up as well.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Saskatchewan and Ontario remain the only provinces in Canada that do not have a set date to reintroduce the sport.

Ramage said it’s just a matter of days before Ontario will announce its returning plans, which strikes him as peculiar considering Ontario has more than 31,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases compared to Saskatchewan’s 658 cases.

Ramage has also spent plenty of time fielding calls from parents and coaches who are eager to see their children be active once again.

“They’ve had really nothing to do since about March 10,” Ramage said, pointing to reopening plans that have largely excluded children’s activities.

“They’ve been hanging around at home or in the backyard. We’ve been hearing from parents and coaches — they want their kids to get out and start doing stuff. We feel that the youth have been left behind and we’re hoping we can get some good news soon.”

Ramage said many of the rules are far-reaching, but with little detriment to the rules of the game.

Players and coaches must remain at least two metres apart in the dugout, and mound visits or player huddles with coaches, pitchers and catchers must also respect the two-metre rule.

All equipment needs to be sanitized before each use. Sharing water bottles, eating sunflower seeds, chewing tobacco or chewing gum is not allowed.

Any player, coach or fan who comes within two metres of an umpire to argue a call is gone for the season.

There will be no handshakes, team huddles or pre-game plate meetings for lineup information.

Fans will be allowed to take in each game, as long as the maximum outdoor social gathering limits are respected. Attendance will be taken at every event for all people present.

Umpires will be given the option to call balls and strikes from behind the plate or behind the pitcher’s mound.

Ramage hopes the province doesn’t see the return-to-play protocols as a way of forcing the province’s hand. He just wants health officials to know that baseball is ready.

“We’re basically just expressing where we’re at,” he said. “We want to get out there as quick as we can, we’re providing the facts and we’re doing our best to keep it as safe as possible for the kids.”