MLB Becomes Latest League to Partner with Cleaning Company

Days into allowing limited fans to attend games in-person, MLB has a new multi-year partnership with RB, the makers of Lysol, to “provide professional solutions to ballparks to help strengthen disinfections protocols for players, staff and fans.”

Under the deal, microbiologists and “germ-kill experts” from Lysol will work with MLB to solidify protocols for disinfection in ballparks, with a focus on “high-touch germ hotspots,” to be implemented in the 2021 season. 

Lysol will also provide the league with professional-grade disinfectant solutions for players and staff in dugouts, bullpens and clubhouses, as well as in fan areas — the company has already begun to do so in the current postseason. Lysol products are also being included in hotel “welcome kits” for players, staff and families. 

Additionally, MLB and Lysol will work on community and outreach initiatives to distribute products and educational materials to schools around the country. 

“The addition of Lysol’s expertise and disinfecting products will help further strengthen efforts to create a safe environment to play Major League Baseball,” MLB Vice President of Drug, Health and Safety Programs Jon Coyles said in an announcement. “As a brand that is synonymous with cleanliness, the Lysol brand will be an important partner in our management of the evolving pandemic as well as in amplifying health and safety messages around baseball.”

MLB and Lysol are just the latest league and cleaning product to capitalize on the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In August, the NBA and WNBA partnered with Clorox and received disinfecting products for the players, referees and staff working inside the leagues’ respective Florida bubbles. On Clorox’s end of the partnership, the company aired a 15-second ad spot during games that showed people using various Clorox products to wipe down and spray surfaces, seats and weights. 

Tide has also leveraged its longtime partnership with the NFL for the 2020 season, sponsoring “safe” jersey swaps. Tide is covering the cost of one replacement jersey per player, washed and exchanged by mail.

According to the LA Times, hotels, airlines and sports arenas are embracing deals with name-brand surface disinfecting products to assuage consumers, despite the reality that COVID-19 is largely transmitted through droplets in the air — so safety protocols still have to include social distancing and wearing masks.

The Global Biorisk Advisory Council and cleaning product maker Ecolab Inc. have each introduced accreditation programs for hotels and arenas, the LA Times reported — GBAC’s costs $15,000. The Staples Center and Hard Rock Stadium are among the venues that have received accreditation through GBAC’s program.