All 30 Major League Baseball clubs have received a joint directive requiring them to hire full-time Spanish translators for the 2016 season.

Some teams already have full-time translators on staff, but others routinely rely on coaches or other uniformed personnel to serve as interpreters for Spanish-speaking players who are not well-versed in English during media obligations.

The new initiative, known as the "Spanish-language translator program,'' was intended to make the same opportunities available to players on all 30 clubs.