No asterisk needed for most unusual season
Noneedfor anasterisk. Defying all skepticismthat this was nothingmore than awatereddown money grabwith little chance of reaching the finish line (yep, I’mraisingmyhand), Major League Baseball has pulled off its two-month sprint of a regular season amid the coronavirus pandemic.
With the playoffs set to beginnextweek, the 60-game campaignof 2020 certainly deserves a place right alongside those 162-game, sixmonth-longmarathons of past years.
“They’re probably feeling like theywould if theyhad played 162 games, really, with the mental drain and everything else thatwason‘em,” said Atlanta Bravesmanager BrianSnitker, whoguidedhis teamto a third straightNL East title.
In many ways, this season was evenmore demanding than the usual grind.
With themost extensive travel of anymajor sport that’s being played during thepandemic, the oddswere stackedagainst baseball from that very first pitch back in late July.
“Ohman, itwas a challenge every day— for everybody, not justus,” Snitker said. “The obstacleswe overcame, thehurdleswehad to jumpover, it was something else.”
Several notable players opted out before the season even began. Atlanta slugger Freddie Freemanwas stricken with COVID-19 during summer campandbecame so ill that he prayed just tomake it through the night.
TheMiami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals hadwidespread outbreaks in the openingweeks, forcing the postponement of numerous games. There was talk of CommissionerRob Man fred threatening to shutdown the season if more teamswere affected.
Inthe end, it somehow worked out better than anyone could’ve expected.
Checkout theMarlins, whohead into theweekend poised to make the playoffs for the first time since 2003 despite being forced tomake nearly 200 rostermoves.
“It has been difficult ,” manager Don Mat tingly said. “You’ve seenguys in the locker roomyou’ve never seen before, some guys you’venever even heard about before.”
Evenwith amuch shorter schedule, most of baseball’s creamhas risen to the top. There are certainly some surprises, suchas theSanDiego Padres claiming their first postseason berth since 2006 and the reigning World Series champion Washington Nationals slumping to last place. But it’sworthnoting thatof the 10playoff teams from 2019, only theNats had been eliminated going into the finalweekend.
Also, let’s giveprops to the newrules, which were viewed by traditionalists (again, raisingmyhand) as just a gimmickyway to beef up interest.
Turns out, the gamewas not ruinedbyboth leagues using the designated hitter. It actuallymade thingsmuch more interesting tohave legitimate hittersmanning every spot in thebattingorder, rather than enduring the helpless swings of a pitcher.
The Braves, for instance, were able use outfielder Mar cell Ozuna in the DH role fromtime to time, ensuring his powerful batwas at the plate inevery game.
Boy, did their lineup flourish.
“A lot of us like the National
League rules, but it worked outwell for us this year,” said Freeman, who bounced back from his illness to have a monster season worthy of MVP consideration.“It was huge for us to havehimbe in that lineupevery single night.”
We’ve also got no complaints about doubleheader games being only seven innings long, or extra innings startingwith a baserunner beingplacedat secondbase.
Both changes presented a whole newset of strategic opportunities, andMLB should considermaking thempermanent going forward.
The shorter games forced managers into a heightened sense of urgency through what hadbeenthe lull of the middle innings. The extra-inning baserunner gave visiting teams the option of playing for a single runwith a bunt or swinging away in hopes of blowingthe game open.
Itwas all rather entertaining, thoughwe’d like tomake one suggestion: Play the 10th under normal rulesbefore putting a baserunner at second to start the 11th if the game is still tied.
The expandedplayoffs— 16 of 30 teamswillmake it this year— are alsoworth
considering for a 2021 season thatwe all hopewill signal a return of at least some degree of normalcy.
Granted, 16 playoff teams is toomany, but anexpansion from 10 to 12 should certainly beonthe table. Thatway, the two division winners in each league would get a first round bye, while the remaining division winner and best second-place team fromeach league could host an entire best-of-three series against a pair ofwild-card teams.
We’ re particularly intrigued with the all-games-in-one-city format of thewild-card round, whichwill be used nextweek in empty stadiumsmainly as away tocut downon travel that could potentially expose teams to the virus.
Let’s seehowthatworks with fans in the stands and
a real home-field advantage, whichwill hopefully be possible next year.
Baseballmust remain diligent through the playoffs, which after the opening roundwill be played entirely at neutral sites tomimic the NBA andNHL bubbles that have been so successful at stifling the virus.
But thehardpart, itwould seem, is over.
“I’mproudof howthey handed thiswhole situation, thewhole twomonths,” Snitker said, speaking for his own teamthoughhe could’ve been referring to everyone. “They followed the protocols fromthe get-go, whichwas hard to do. We got through thewhole thing, and nowwe get rewarded for it.” Bringon theplayoffs. You’ve earned it, baseball.