After months of bitter negotiations failed to yield a revised salary agreement, Major League Baseball owners told the players “when and where” and set the schedule anyway. Many fans of the game are just excited to see baseball, but the abbreviated season coupled with the environment in which it will be played raises some questions. Let’s start with the basics.
Opening Day – We have Yankees at the Nationals and Giants at the Dodgers on Friday July 23rd. The rest of the league will open the following day; July 24th.
Summer Training – Leading up to opening day, teams are playing intrasquad scrimmages in their home ballparks. After 3 weeks of these workouts, play will begin on the weekend on July 24th.
Season Length – Teams will play a 60-game season that concludes on September 27th. In an attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19, 40 of those games will be against division opponents, with the remaining 20 being against teams from the same region in the other league. For instance, the Chicago Cubs, as an NL Central team, will play 20 games against AL Central teams.
Playoffs – During the labor negotiations we often heard discussion of expanding the playoffs to generate additional revenue. With no further agreement past the March deal that gave players prorated salaries and owners the ability to set the schedule, the playoffs will look like normal: three division winners from each league and two wild card teams playing each other in a one game playoff.
Sense of Urgency? – With a shortened season, more teams would seem to have a shot at making the playoffs. On the flipside, last year’s World Series champions, the Washington Nationals, struggled to just 19-31 through the first 50 games last year. Perhaps there’s a sense that anything could happen, and any team could get hot for a short stretch. Some have speculated that managers may treat games more like a playoff atmosphere, perhaps using strategies generally saved for October. Maybe with a 60-game season, players won’t pace themselves like they otherwise would have for a 162-game season. Some other rule changes make the strategy aspect of the game more interesting than ever this year.
Universal Designated Hitter- In the interest of preventing injuries to pitchers and adding parity between the two leagues, NL lineups will feature a DH this season. For stacked lineups like the Los Angeles Dodgers, getting another bat in the lineup makes them all the more deadly. Even less formidable teams like their NL West opponent Colorado Rockies stand to benefit from the added spot. Young bats like Ryan McMahon, Garret Hampson and Brendan Rodgers figure to get a larger slice of the at bat pie, granted in a shortened season that is a smaller pie. The DH is going to be here to stay soon. With no revised labor deal, it isn’t currently in place for 2021, but with the new collective bargaining agreement coming after that season, it’s widely expected to be permanently added to the NL.
Extra Innings – The league has added a controversial new rule in an attempt to prevent games from extending long into the night in extra inning marathons. Contests that make it to the 10th inning will have a runner start on second base to begin every inning that must be played. Starting these frames with runners in scoring position means that teams will usually be just a hit away from taking the lead or perhaps walking off for the win. It will be exciting to watch, but many baseball purists are upset.
COVID-19 – As of July 13th, the MLB had reported 3,470 coronavirus tests conducted thus far. Of those, 58 players and eight team staff members had tested positive, a rate of 1.8%. When these players and personnel test positive, they’re quarantined from their teams for 10 to 14 days and need two negative tests before returning to play. The league purchased their own laboratory in Utah to perform COVID-19 tests every other day. Some players have expressed concern that results have been delayed. Several notable players such as David Price, Buster Posey and Felix Hernandez have opted out of the season. Others may follow in their footsteps and not wish to risk their health as infections rise around the country. Face of the game Mike Trout is on the fence himself, with a pregnant wife. Teams are taking caution to keep players safe, like extending dugouts and having players sit in empty stands, but more people are going to test positive.
Asterisk – Many fans have expressed a belief that this season’s championship may not carry as much weight as years past. After all, the champion will have only had to overcome a 60-game season, rather than enduring the standard 162. However, the league is giving out the trophy. The season counts. Some may argue that with everything that’s happened this year, overcoming that adversity and winning may mean even more. As a general rule of thumb, if it’s your team that wins, it probably means more. Regardless, let’s enjoy some baseball.
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