For 99 days this winter, Major League Baseball owners held the sport hostage while haggling with the Major League Baseball Players Association over the terms of a new collective agreement. The lockout stretched for months and numbed brains. The two sides argued about luxury tax penalties, about revenue sharing, about an international draft, about all the rules that govern the sport.
As it turned out, the most important rule for the 2022 season had already been written.
You can find it on the Government of Canada official website. It reads in part:
“To qualify as a fully vaccinated traveler to Canada, you must have received at least 2 doses of a travel-approved COVID-19 vaccine, a mix of 2 approved vaccines, or at least 1 dose of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine. . .”
As the trade deadline approaches as the playoff races narrow to a sprint, no line in the CBA has proven more influential than Canada’s vaccination requirements. (The United States has a similar policy.) The ruling affected outcomes in the field and changed the landscape of the commercial market. That reality resurfaced this week after an exhausted Phillies squad without four players stumbled into the Rogers Center and the Royals announced they would soon set an ignominious record with 10 players suspended ahead of a trip to Toronto became.
If the 60-game campaign of 2020 was defined by the risks baseball players were willing to take to carry out a season, then 2022 might well be defined by the stubbornness of some people who refuse to take risks that are still prevalent protection. Hospitalization rates for COVID-19 have risen this summer as a new variant sweeps North America. Team officials in Kansas City and elsewhere have spent months advising players on the benefits of vaccinations. The recalcitrance of certain individuals only comes out in the open when their team visits the Blue Jays.
“I’m not going to let Canada tell me what I’m going to do and what I’m not going to put in my body for a little money,” Phillies catcher JT Realmuto said Monday. In a bid to hold his own against the Great White North, Realmuto lost $260,000. He planned to take his unvaccinated teammates to Miami for training. The Phillies, without Realmuto and third baseman Alec Bohm, struck 14 times Tuesday and lost ground in the National League wildcard chase.
Philadelphia remained outnumbered and suffered a similar fate to Boston and Tampa Bay earlier in the season. The royals aren’t fighting for much in 2022. But the pace of their recovery efforts has been changed by the mandate. Because the double-digit contingent of players on the banned list includes Kansas City’s most attractive commodity, outfielder Andrew Benintendi.
“For me,” Benintendi told reporters, “it was a personal choice.”
But as with all vaccine-related issues, the decisions of a few affect many. The most pressing concern is the ongoing deaths and disruption caused by the pandemic, which has ravaged America’s healthcare system and flattened the economy. But this is a sports site and you came here to read about baseball, so in this limited case we can focus on how Benintendi’s status affects his commercial value. There are plenty of contenders who could use a player of his caliber. That interest would diminish if Benintendi is unavailable for street games in Toronto, let alone a potential playoff series. And the Blue Jays are, of course, barred from winning unvaccinated players — unless they just want them to play street games in America. (You can ask the Brooklyn Nets how this works.)
So Kansas City will approach the Aug. 2 close with a damper being placed on its assets. Benintendi could get less. Ditto for a potential return from outfielder Michael A. Taylor. Whit Merrifield, who has a .635 OPS this season, volunteered to consider vaccination if traded to a playoff team. So there is.
There’s also public embarrassment at losing nearly half the roster because the players made “a personal choice” over the collective goal of winning baseball games. Even if it’s only for a few days, the stench will linger. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore emphasized the two-year effort by his organization’s medical department, front office and coaching staff to “educate everyone in our organization” and “provide the right amount of space and grace along the way.” way to make very informed decisions.”
“But at the end of the day, it’s her choice,” Moore said. “That’s what they choose.”
Teams cannot force players to receive the vaccine. You can only try to convince them. During spring training, questions floated around the Mets and Yankees about the city of New York’s vaccination mandate for workers. Mayor Eric Adams announced an exemption in March to allow unvaccinated athletes and performers to work. The Yankees traveled to Toronto without incident in early May, as did the Astros a few days earlier.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence that the Yankees and Astros are soaring way above the field in the American League. Getting vaccinated will not make you a better ball player. But it shows a commitment to a common goal, the kind of move championship-minded teams demand of players. At a time when clubs are making circuit trips to Toronto with trepidation, the Astros and Yankees needn’t worry about that nonsense.
Not every contender for the American League can say the same. Robbie Ray, who signed a five-year, $115 million deal with Seattle in the winter, did not travel to Toronto in May. A month later, the Twins visited without outfielder Max Kepler and three other aides. The White Sox didn’t bring in pitchers Dylan Cease and Kendall Graveman.
Few teams have dealt with Canadian law more directly than Boston. The Red Sox spent a series without nearer Tanner Houck and outfielder Jarren Duran there last month. These absences were acute. After the bullpen blew a lead against the Blue Jays, manager Alex Cora indicated the team would keep pushing players to get the shot.
When the Red Sox return to Toronto in September, Cora said, “It’s going to be different.” And he didn’t mean the law would change. The heads of the players could. Duran has since indicated that he will be vaccinated in time for this trip. Houck was less committed. Same story with Chris Sale. When asked about his status after a rehab spree in June, Sale suggested the inquest was a downer. “I just had a lot of fun,” Sale said. “Let’s not ruin this, okay?”
Fair enough. Boston has some time to change some minds. But not that much time. The vaccination mandate had an impact on the rating. It could affect the trading market. Canada may not be able to decide what certain players do or don’t put into their bodies. But who makes the playoffs and who doesn’t can change.
(Top photo by Whit Merrifield and Andrew Benintendi: Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports)