You will probably start seeing fewer masks in the Pirates’ dugout in the very near future.
“I believe we will be at 85% [vaccination rate] by the end of this coming week,” general manager Ben Cherington said on his radio show on 93.7 The Fan Sunday.
That 85% vaccination rate for a team’s traveling party is the benchmark that Major League Baseball and the Players Association set forth at the beginning of the season.
The league incentivized players to get vaccinated by rolling back some health and safety protocols.That includes allowing families to travel with the team, for players to go to restaurants while on the road, being able to use saunas and game rooms in the clubhouse and not requiring masks to be worn while in the dugout.
All of those are small perks, but as Cherington said, “they add up."
In the latest update from the league’s communication office Friday, 20 teams are currently fully vaccinated, while another two had at least a first shot administered.
A team source had recently told DK Pittsburgh Sports that the Pirates were “ever so close” to reaching that 85% mark.
The Pirates did not mandate that their players needed to get vaccinated, but strongly encouraged and made sure to answer any health or safety concerns an individual might have. That’s in line with the relationship building that Cherington and manager Derek Shelton have both prioritized since joining the organization.
“Of course you don’t expect that thing to be a vaccine or a pandemic, but sure enough, it has been,” Cherington said. “In some respects, I think our relationships internally within our group have grown from that.”
The Pirates recently raised PNC Park’s capacity limit to 50% in June, following three-foot social distancing guidelines. The park will be at full capacity once the calendar turns to July.
The club has removed the mask mandate at PNC Park for fully vaccinated fans.