Major League Baseball Gets Serious About Concussions

The NFL has taken steps to learn about the danger of concussions and protect its players. We’ve also seen NBA and NHL teams become more serious about concussions. Now baseball is getting into the act. On Tuesday, Major League Baseball announced a new disabled list solely for the use of players dealing with a concussion.

The concussion disabled list will be a 7-day DL. It will work in combination of the standard 15-day and 60-day DLs that have been in place for years. The idea with the 7-day DL is it will make it easier for players dealing with concussions to sit out a few games without having to automatically be out the whole 15 days.

“This policy, which reflects the collective expertise of many of the foremost authorities in the field, will benefit players, umpires and clubs alike,” said Bud Selig, MLB’s commissioner, “and I am proud of the spirit of cooperation that has led us to this result.”

It’ll be interesting to see how teams use this concussion disabled list. Will teams try to cheat the rule or will teams respect its proper use? Only time will tell.

Baseball and Concussions