The Ministry of Public Health cleared the start of the Winter Professional Baseball Championship. The tournament usually began in mid-October. The tournament will be played with new health protocols starting 15 November 2020.
Health Minister Plutarco Arias said he reached the agreement with the National Baseball Commissioner Junior Noboa. Six teams will be participating in the 2020-2021 tournament.
Dr. Arias understands that the players are healthy athletes with low vulnerabilities. Nevertheless, the tournament will be played keeping to Covid-19 protocols for baseball. There will not be bubbles, but the players will be concentrated.
“In general terms, I think that with this everybody wins, the country wins and the young people will be developing their professional baseball career,” said the minister.
Likewise, he said that the Ministry of Public Health has designated a medical team to ensure the keeping to the protocols in the baseball academies in the country. PCR testing will be facilitated when required.
The National Commissioner of Baseball Junior Noboa said this is great news given that the Dominican Republic is the largest international training base outside the United States.
He stated that work is already underway to prepare for the winter baseball that is so popular here.
Aside from Dr. Arias and Noboa, others present for the meeting were Yerik Perez, Major League Baseball (MLB) director of operations in the Dominican Republic; Raymond Blais, in charge of the Prohibited Substances Program, and Porfirio Cabral, liaison between the baseball commissioner’s office and the Ministry of Health.
Interviewed on “Esta Noche con Mariasela”, Vitelio Mejía, president of the Dominican Winter Professional Baseball League, confirmed that the 2020-2021 Winter Professional Baseball Tournament games will be played to empty stadiums. He said Dominicans will need to follow the tournament online or on TV and radio.
The tournament is scheduled for 15 November 2020 through 15 January 2021. The winner will be decided in a seven game playoff, with the championship will go to the team that wins the first four games.
Mejía said Major League Baseball will be supervising the championship. The Dominican League is covering the costs of a MLB medical inspector to ensure that the agreed upon protocols are being met by the teams and players. Locally, epidemiologist Miguel Núñez will be supervising the tournament.
Mejía explained: “Baseball is a very regulated sport and MLB is our most important partner. MLB is the owner of the players. They set the laws.”
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MSP
16 September 2020