Some pandemic changes are keepers

Why the expanded post-season, universal DH and taxi squads should stick around

If ever there was an ideal time for Major League Baseball to experiment and make changes to some of its long-standing traditions, this is it.

No matter what happens over the next few weeks, the 2020 campaign will have an asterisk beside it. With barely two months to play, and a schedule reduced by more than half, this season is unlike any that came before. Unique times present an opportunity to get creative, and with a maximum of 60 games to be played per team there’s almost nothing to lose. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred tried to make the best of this troubling coronavirus era by implementing a series of sweeping rules changes at the start of the season. Some were new, some had been talked about for years but were deemed too controversial to try before.

The condensed season has provided a trial run of sorts for the new ideas. Which ones will stick around, and which ones will become one-year fads? Let’s take a closer look to find out:

EXTRA INNINGS

The league attempted to shorten games by having teams start extra innings with a man on second base. Toronto entered play Friday having experienced the new format four times (1-3). Opinion across the league appears split — some like it, some hate it — but everyone agrees it adds another level of strategy. To bunt or not to bunt? The decades-old question.

“When you’re on the road, you want to score more than one run,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “When you’re at home, you want the run so you can win the game. But looking at the other teams, not everyone has done it that way (with bunting). I think it goes team to team. For example, we’re at home and I’ve got Bo Bichette leading off, I’m not going to bunt him. It depends on who’s hitting, who’s behind him and all that.”

There is potential for a compromise. When baseball returns to a full schedule, it could wait until the 12th or 13th inning before putting a runner on second. That might satisfy some, but it won’t make everyone happy. The best bet here is that 2020 won’t be the only year where extras look and feel different, but starting in the 10th feels early.

“I think it kind of tampers with the integrity of the game,” Jays first baseman Rowdy

Tellez said. “I think starting with a guy on second base makes it easier. I know a lot of guys don’t like extra innings, pitchers don’t like extra innings. Baseball, they say, is a slower game and I think starting with a runner on second makes it slower. I’m not a huge fan of it, but it’s something we have to deal with and plan accordingly.”

UNIVERSAL DH

MLB had been dropping hints about adopting a universal DH for years before finally going through with it. The players’ union supports the idea because it creates a spot for their aging and more one-dimensional members who might otherwise struggle to find work. MLB likes it because of increased offence and more symmetry between the American and National leagues. There’s a good chance this rule is here to stay too, but it may not be fully implemented until the current collective agreement expires at the end of 2021.

EXPANDED POST-SEASON

MLB teams are generating a fraction of their expected revenue this season and players’ salaries were cut by more than half. Unless there is an accessible vaccine for COVID-19 before opening day in 2021, the sport likely will be in for another difficult financial year. That means owners will once again be motivated to maximize post-season television revenue with an expanded format. Expect the players to use this as leverage in future talks because they know the league wants the additional revenue. Expanded playoffs with 16 teams should be here to stay, even if there’s a one-year pause in 2021 as both sides await the new CBA. There’s just too much money at stake for this not to become a permanent thing.

THREE-BATTER MINIMUM

This change, announced before COVID-19, was MLB’s attempt to shorten games by mandating all relievers must face at least three batters or finish a half-inning. The move eliminated a lot of late-inning gamesmanship for managers who made changes based on matchups, and it also ran a lot of lefty specialists out of the league. This is another rule that’s likely here to stay, even though it has a lot of detractors.

TAXI SQUAD ROSTER

MLB created three-man taxi squads (recently increased to five) to give teams insurance during the pandemic. There don’t appear to be any plans to use them in the future, but maybe there should be.

Here’s an idea: Instead of expanding rosters to 26 — or 28 in September — the league should move it back to the traditional 25 while keeping taxi squads. Those players would collect big-league salaries, work out with the team and operate separately from the minors. It would then be up to each team to decide which 25 would be active each night.

If starting pitchers weren’t allowed to be removed, it would create additional strategy about which pitchers/hitters are required for matchups and increase a team’s ability to carry a pinch-running specialist, who adds drama late in games.

SHORTER DOUBLEHEADERS

MLB recently announced games in a doubleheader would be limited to seven innings. The change was done out of necessity with teams needing to play so many games in a condensed period. At some point this might become a thing, if the league wants to build in more off-days, but it’s doubtful that happens any time soon. This one fundamentally changes the game and should only be used during emergencies, like we’re experiencing now.