3 Tweaks MLB Players Are Definitely Asking for in Latest 2020 Health Plan

MLB decided to be extremely cautions when it came time to decide what will and will not be allowed, should play resume amid the coronavirus pandemic. To reduce the risk of infection, the league has banned several commonplace facets of the game, including spitting, shaking hands, and reusing baseballs.

Players don't seem to be on board with all of those changes in the first draft, though, and they will likely try to argue for these three restrictions to be altered in some way.

3. Bringing Back Team Buffets

Oakland Athletics pregame meal / Michael Zagaris/Getty Images

Team buffets are an integral part of the behind-the-scenes aspect of the game, from a nutrition and team camaraderie perspective. While trying to be overly cautious in this climate is certainly the correct move, potentially not allowing people to eat together is a little but overbearing, and players might not take too kindly to one of the most honored pre-game rituals being shut down for the entire season. Be safe about it and use your masks, guys.

2. Being Allowed to Use Showers and Recovery Equipment

Players might want to use hot tubs and showers / Michael Zagaris/Getty Images

Playing 162 games in a typical MLB season involves a great deal of repetition in terms how players look after their bodies. Recovery equipment like hot tubs and cryotherapy booths help players withstand the physical toll that the game places on them. Banning them, along with stopping players from using the showers at the team's facility, would not only mess with the on-field play and upset the routine most players find themselves in, but it would also not be the most hygienic way to go. This is unfortunately an injury risk waiting to happen in an entirely different context.

1. Allowing Physical Contact in Case of a Fight

Fans still want to see some fights / Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images

Imagine this scenario. A player on Team A gets hit by a pitcher on Team B. Team A retaliates by hitting Team B's star in the upper back. What is Team B supposed to do? As ugly as fights can be, they serve a purpose, as they help teams take the law into their own hands and prevent rampant plunking. That very important self-policing aspect of the game might be eliminated if the 2020 season proposal's restrictions on physical contact are instituted, creating a world featuring constant disrespect and very little fighting back.