The drama over the 2020 baseball season hit the denouement last month. How did it shake out? Oh, players and owned ‘agreed’ on a season. It starts today. So, play ball!
As for the story? The short version: A bunch of children run MLB. We call them ‘team owners.’
How the 2020 Season Happened
For the long version, team owners tried to make players accept a big pay cut. They had already prorated player salaries, but they wanted deeper cuts. There weren’t any good reasons for players to accept extra cuts. And so, players said, “no way.” Negotiations stalled, and everyone got upset.
An earlier agreement laid out what happened in this scenario. Players get their entire prorated salary, but owners get to decide when to hold the season. And so, they did. Players, of course, taunted them over it. “Tell us when and where” became the rallying cry of players starting sometime in mid-June.
A Preview
What will the 2020 season be like? It’s going to be weird. They’re playing 60 games, not the usual 162. Some players are opting out due to COVID-19. Not much I’ve said in prior season previews really applies here. The 50-game rule is out for obvious reasons.
In short, it’ll be a lot of things, but boring won’t be one. ESPN provided a helpful overview of the changes, but they include things like: testing players for COVID-19 every other day, a shortened ‘spring’ training, the use of a (gasp!) DH in the National League, changes to extra innings games, restrictions on the use of relief pitchers, expanded rosters, shortening of the injured list, regional schedules rather than national ones, and so on.
It’s by far the biggest set of single season changes in the history of baseball. Baseball fans have never seen anything like it.
