Major League Baseball will implement new rules for the shortened 2020 season to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Some of those guidelines include no high-fives, no spitting and no hugging after home runs. Pitchers also won’t be able to lick their hands between pitches — a common practice often seen on the mound.
It certainly will be an adjustment, and Boston Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi knows it.
“That’s obviously going to be the biggest issue, I feel like,” Eovaldi said on “The Greg Hill Show,” as transcribed by WEEI. “Certain guys, it’s hard for them. I try to work on that in the offseason. I don’t dip, but just the spitting. When I’m on the mound, my mouth gets dry, I want to spit. I lick my fingers sometimes, too, to get a better grip on the ball. I feel like I’ve broken those habits. Try to find new ways, wipe my hand on the sweat instead of the mouth. It’s been different, but I feel like it’s been helpful.”
The right-hander also added how players need to hold their teammates accountable in order to make the adjustment a bit easier.
“I think that’s going to be one of the biggest challenges,” Eovaldi said. “You have to kind of hold each other accountable for it. Being trapped in a hotel now, and then being trapped in a hotel on the road, it’s not easy by any means. But you just have to hold each other accountable. We’ve had a couple Zoom meetings already about making sure you’re wearing your mask all the time, keeping your hands clean. That’s going to be the ultimate goal, is for everyone to try to stay healthy. I think the team that has the least amount of corona cases, that’s going to be the team that’s going to be in the playoffs.”
It sure sounds like the Red Sox have a good handle on things already.
