MLB Owners Approve Proposal to Return: Will Players Agree?
Baseball is back in the world though it hasn’t come back in the United States as of yet. Fans have had to get their fix from the CPBL in Taiwan and the KBO in South Korea, which kicked off last week with ESPN picking up games to televise six days a week in an order to give fans live programming. It also is an attempt to boost their flagging ratings and it seemingly has paid dividends. The season opening KBO game last Tuesday drew 173,000 viewers on average despite starting after 1 am ET and a rain delay. By comparison, the NBA 2K League that was broadcast in primetime later that evening drew only 40,000 viewers.
On Monday, Major League Baseball took a step toward coming back to the hearts, minds and ballparks in America and Canada later this summer.
It was announced that the owners had approved a plan to return to action on the diamond. Commissioner Rob Manfred is expected to present the plan to the players on Tuesday with the return scheduled for sometime in June for a second spring training and then games starting in early July for teams’ normal home parks, albeit without fans. Now, let’s look at some of the specifics for the plan for the return of baseball, should things go according to plan.
An 82-game schedule: It only makes sense that a schedule would end up somewhere around a half-season. Ideally, a 100-game slate would have been the ideal situation but the fact remains that you have to work with what you have. It will be interesting to see how things pan out in a shorter campaign and how it goes. One would think a shorter schedule could help veteran teams as it takes a little while for youth-oriented clubs to get up to speed. That could negatively impact a team like the White Sox, who have plenty of young talent who would need time to shake off the jitters and start performing.
Universal DH: As a fan of a National League team, I personally despise the DH. It takes all the strategy out of the game in the middle innings because you don’t have to worry about letting your pitcher hit in a key spot or make the decision to pinch hit and then go to a bullpen arm. The argument that AL teams are at a disadvantage in a NL park because their pitchers have to take their hacks is a tired one. After all, before the early 1970s when the DH came into play, ALL pitchers had to swing the bat. Forcing it seems like a weak attempt to try and bolster offensive numbers in an already unusual season.
Playoff Field Expanded: In a normal season, at least in recent years, 10 teams made the postseason: the three division winners in each league and two wild-cards. This season, we’re looking at potential expansion to 14 teams, which would create four wild cards. According to research done by Bradford Doolittle, at the 72-game mark last season, 22 of the 30 teams would have been in or within four games of a playoff spot. That would drive a lot of interest down the stretch and make things interesting to see how things played out. On the flip side, it could make for a watered-down postseason with some mediocre squads in the mix.
Revenue Split: This is going to be the biggest issue for the return of the sport. Owners have agreed to a 50/50 revenue split on the season. That’s going to take some concessions and negotiating on both sides to come to a concept that works. If the sides can’t figure out this concept, we very well could be wondering if baseball will be back at all this year or if we have to wait to 2021. This is something that needs to be monitored intently to see what unfolds. Manfred and MLBPA President Tony Clark have to find a compromise.
Expanded Rosters: This move makes sense, especially if the season is going to be compressed to fit the schedule in a reasonable time frame. Going to a 30-man active roster instead of 25 or 26 adds a little more flexibility to carry a couple extra arms and a potential bench bat in the mix. With pitchers needing time to get up to full speed, especially early in the season, having the extra arms would be important to avoid overworking guys and potential trips to the disabled list. In addition, there is expected to be a 20-man taxi squad of the team’s top minor leaguers and prospects should they need to shuffle guys due to poor performance or injury.
Geographical Schedules: This one could make or break you depending on who you are a fan of when it gets right down to it. As it stands, teams would face their division rivals and teams from the corresponding division in the other league. That means that the NL East has to deal with games with the Yankees and Rays while the AL West teams have to contend with the Dodgers. By the same token, the NL West teams have to face the Astros along with the improving Rangers and Angels. The teams that pan out here is the Central Divisions as the Twins and Indians get to face the Pirates while the NL Central teams get to square off with the White Sox, Tigers and Royals. It is definitely a bit unbalanced but the fact remains that it’s the smartest move from a travel perspective.
It will be interesting to see how the players respond to the proposal. At least it’s a step in the right direction as far as trying to get back on the field.