The 2020 MLB Season - Every Game is a Gift...

It didn’t seem likely that we would get a 2020 season…but here we are. It’s July 31st, 2020 and the San Francisco Giants are playing a baseball game against the Texas Rangers at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California. However, I consider this game - and every game during the 2020 Major League Baseball season - a gift and possibly the last of the season.

With the way the virus has already spread this season throughout the league within the first few days of the season, it would feel like nothing less than a miracle to actually get through a 60-game season and witness any type of playoff baseball in 2020. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred basically agrees and, per ESPN, told MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark on Friday that if the sport doesn't do a better job of managing the coronavirus, it could shut down for the season.

This near-nightmare (Manfred insists it’s not a nightmare scenario yet… well, in that case, it’s a pretty terrible dream) began with the Miami Marlins, who, despite at least four positive tests within the organization, went forward with their game on Sunday against the Phillies. Since then, at least 16 more Marlins have tested positive as well as multiple members of the Phillies. Neither team has been able to get a game in since. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals announced this morning that two of their players also tested positive and the game between the Cards and Brewers would be postponed.

Because players, coaches and managers have been caught multiple times on camera violating all the basic coronavirus-related rules such as spitting on the field, it stands to reason their behavior is even worse behind the scenes. There are rumors that the Marlins decided to have a night out in Atlanta, which led to the original outbreak.

It is possible that if every player, coach, manager and employee took the coronavirus threat seriously and did everything they could to social distance and stay away from this virus, no games would have to be postponed. This may be a dream scenario, however. And even if over 1,000 people suddenly became this disciplined, what about the players families? Players do go home during home stands and could easily pick up the virus from their loved ones.

At the end of the day, the season is looking more fragile than ever. Just like the expression that every day is a gift - every GAME is a gift in 2020. Don’t take them for granted.. the last one could be any day.

MLB Owners Shoot Down MLBPA Proposal and REFUSE to Send Counter-Offer!

In a move that surprised no one, the MLB Owners denied the 114 game proposal sent by the players that included pro-rated salaries. What may be a bit surprising is that the owners also said that they will not send a counter-offer! This is certainly bad news, and another indicator that a 2020 MLB Season is becoming more and more unlikely.

Rumors have indicated that the owners would prefer a much shorter season that will end around late September as to avoid any possible “second wave” of the coronavirus. This seems logical but may require a season as short as 50 games. In my opinion, there are actually some pros to such a short season (as a one time thing!):

• Every team, including the Marlins, Giants, Mariners and Orioles, has a chance to get hot for a few weeks and make the playoffs

• The season will hit the ground running and every game will be huge

• There will be a higher probability of finishing the season without any player or MLB employee getting infected, causing an early shutdown

• If there is a second wave of the coronavirus, it may be avoided

These are advantages for the owners and fans, but do the players care? They would not get paid more for less games, and may not care about the possibility of sneaking into the playoffs as an underdog. Most MLB players are confident and don’t go around thinking that their team has "no chance”… so, perhaps there is little about a shorter season that would appeal to them. This is evidenced by their 114 game proposal — they want to play as many games as possible.

All in all, things do not look good for baseball in 2020…. and keep in mind, even if these two sides do come to an agreement, there are several other hoops to jump through in order to get a season going. I hope I’m wrong, but I believe it will be a long time before we see some meaningful baseball.

New MLB Proposal Has All Teams Playing In Their Own Stadiums... But Still No Fans.

The proposals began almost immediately after Spring Training stopped. MLB owners and executives are desperate to bring back Major League Baseball into people’s homes so that some type of revenue can start being generated. However, thus far, every proposal has been met with extreme challenges that proved too much to overcome.

First, there was the Arizona plan… then the Arizona/Florida plan… then the Arizona/Texas/Florida plan… and now it’s the 3-Division plan. In this plan, there would be 3 separate divisions of ten teams each, with each team playing in their own ballpark. The plan surfaced through a report by Bob Nightengale of USA Today, who said that MLB officials are “cautiously optimistic” that the season will start in late June, and no later than July 2, playing at least 100 regular season games. This plan would not include fans and the ten teams in each division would only play among themselves.

Of course, nothing can happen until medical experts agree that it is safe and widespread testing is available. Also, even with the 10 teams in each division only traveling to teams within their own division, there will still be plenty of travel. Under the current proposed divisions, teams like the San Francisco Giants would be traveling to places like Houston and Arlington, while the Yankees would travel to Miami. To further complicate matters, the plan calls for an abbreviate Spring Training in each teams’ Spring Training Complex. This would require even more moving around for the players and personnel.

What also must be taken into account is the fact that these games would be televised. Therefore, the amount of people at each game, even without fans, would easily be in the several hundreds. Think of the cameramen, reporters, producers, coaches, extended rosters, umpires, network personnel, announcers, clubhouse assistants, trainers, etc etc… and this would be in multiple states during a pandemic. The governors of these states would have to approve the plan and MLB would have to be prepared for the backlash it might receive from the general public, who, believe it or not, are not all baseball fans. Unless the social climate improved tenfold within the next 30 days, this plan simply feels impossible.