MLB planning, subject to union approval, to reopen clubhouse access to accredited media

Major League Baseball has informed the Baseball Writers Association of America that he plans to reopen access to the clubhouse before and after the game to accredited media. In particular, that course of action is still subject to approval by the MLB Players Association.

MLB has not provided clubhouse access to accredited media in either of the past two seasons due to COVID-19 concerns. Access to the clubhouse was suspended in March 2020, with reporters generally limited to conducting phone or video chat interviews that year:

Fully vaccinated members of the BBWAA were allowed to meet the players and coaches on the field again midway through the 2021 season, but were not allowed into the clubhouse.

Popular journalist Tom Haudricourt tweets that access to the clubhouse in 2022 and beyond, if approved by the union, likely to cover vaccination and mask requirements again.

If the MLBPA approves, the return of clubhouse access appears to be a welcome development for reporters. Expanding individual access to players and avoiding the potential technological pitfalls associated with talking via video chat are among the potential benefits for reporters speaking with players and staff for stories.

It may interest you: MLB owners will meet with each other to define their next move against the MLBPA

Shortly after MLB first suspended clubhouse access, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal wrote about the advantages he felt clubhouse access brought to reporters, which, in his view, has a indirect benefit to the fans who consume their stories.

Raphael Martinez

I am a fan of the King of Sports, especially the Boston Red Sox in MLB and all Mexican baseball in general. This profession has given me the opportunity to cover major events such as the Caribbean Series, LMB All Star, LMP (uninterruptedly since 2009), signatures of important players. I had the chance to attend the 2013 World Classic in Arizona, USA, although as a fan. Apart from this beautiful sport, I love basketball, where I have also narrated games and even an NBA friendly 10 years ago, but I have baseball in my veins. Degree in Communication Sciences from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS) , from which I graduated in 2011. I was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa and started in the world of sports journalism in 2004 in the newspaper El Sol de Mazatlán, where I was a baseball columnist and a reporter at the same time. In January 2009 I arrived at El Debate as a journalist reporter and it was almost six years (in the first stage), until in November 2014 I emigrated to the radio providing my services at Línea Directa-Grupo RSN. My cycle there ended in July 2019 and a few days later, El Debate gave me another opportunity to work and opened the doors for me again. That is how I came to Al Bat, where I have been since 2019 as a web journalist.

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MLB planning, subject to union approval, to reopen clubhouse access to accredited media