In a simple world we would probably play a half season. With the Coronavirus spreading around the country like wild fire, all sports including baseball have been put on indefinite hold. It seems so trivial talking about baseball during a time like this. We do need to talk about it here, since this is a baseball blog. When would the MLB season start is a valid question that nobody can answer right now. In a logical world the season would probably start sometime in June or July. They would play 81-100 games, give all players a full year of service time, expand rosters, and start the playoffs and World Series in the normal fall timeslot. Unfortunately nothing is ever easy in a Rob Manfred world. He loves to needlessly complicate things.
MLB and the players have come to an agreement on service time, salaries, and the draft. The question remains on whether the season starts in the summer or if the season would be played throughout October and November with postseason games played at Neutral stadium sites. That is one scenario the Commissioner’s office, the union and the owners are discussing. Nobody knows how many games they will be able to get in. One idiotic scenario is playing the regular season into November while expanding the postseason to 14 teams to make up for the loss of revenue. At least give us a couple of years before you implement that nonsense. Maybe we could have a Christmas World Series?
MLB may expand the playoffs from 10 teams to 14 this year. It’s been proposed for subsequent years but this could be the time to experiment. Would also be a way to add big games, boost excitement and yes revenue. Nothing close to final. Almost anything is on table.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 27, 2020
Owners, Union Have Discussed Expanded Playoffs
MLB MPBPA Reach Agreement on Shortened Draft
There will still be a draft, though shortened. League will have right to keep it to 5 rounds. Undrafted players can sign for 20K.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 27, 2020
When #MLB is able to start their season, teams are expected to expand their rosters from 26 players to 29 players the first month they begin playing games.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 27, 2020
What about a spring training? How long do the players need to get ready? There are a lot of questions with little answers. No matter what decision the owners and players agree on, this season (if the season is played) will be a disjointed Frankenstein of a beast. It will be a monstrosity of some kind. The 2020 season will be a tangled ball of cable haphazardly put together. I guess that’s better than not playing a season at all. Check out the latest developments on the 2020 season, if they ever begin play.
Don’t fear Scott, the baseball owners will put on a show for you. MLB is just too big a show and trendsetter for the nation to not have the games on, as soon as possible. Hell, George W. was throwing out the first pitch in Yankee Stadium while the Towers were still smoldering. Barring some major setback with the viras, baseball will be putting on their show before the start of June.
June? I have to disagree with that prediction.
We are getting mixed messages on when this pandemic will peak. We would be better served if certain sources would just stop talking, but that won’t happen. Those that know what they are talking about say the peak could be anywhere from 3 weeks out to 3 months out, with multiple peaks following for up to 12 months. The medical community remains very worried about this. Baseball is far down the national priority list.
Baseball is a game, life is a lot different. Baseball is part of our fabric as a nation, this virus came out of no where. Unless there is a turn around in how fast the virus is spreading, and some sort of medicine developed to combat the spread, I also think it is a little premature for MLB to talk about any kind of season. Right now, no one has the answers. And that is nobody. Lots of reports, but little progress. Most teams seem to think the players need about 2 weeks. Since they already agreed to expand the rosters to 29 when they do come back, the pitchers will not have to ramp it up as fast. As for expanding the playoffs, that is moronic, and simply a move to make more money. I want to see games as much as any fan. But I also do not want to see 1000’s of people die because we did not do enough to thwart this pandemic.
Well said Bear.
President extended the keep your distance edict until at least the end of April. If this thing tails off, I do not see them playing at all until mid June. If not, cancelling the season might be right around the corner some time after that. Boras saying they should play until the end of October is pretty moronic, and definitely based on making money. There are not enough domed ballparks, or warm weather stadiums to make sense of a schedule like that.
Baseball in mid June?
Some models I have seen are showing different areas tailing off at different times. That by no means suggests we are getting a handle on this thing. The fact of the matter is we didn’t attack this quickly and aggressively in January when we knew about it. Yes, some of the early hit areas show the peak being hit in April and the numbers tailing off until June. But that does not suggest we can be filling ballparks shortly thereafter. The numbers are just now beginning to spike in Southern California and some dunderhead governors, most in the south, haven’t even given the stay at home orders yet. We now lead the planet in COVID 19 cases and it’s because of failed federal leadership and that failed leadership is continuing. How can anyone expect a quick recovery when day after day we watch the bungling of supply chains and our President standing there lying to us and tweeting about his ratings. He knows no other way. He’s been that guy his entire life!
We’d be wise to focus on what we can do today and stop thinking about a baseball season. If we are focused and united we can maybe keep the deaths below 200,000.