10:07pm: Any player or manager who comes within 6 feet of an umpire to argue a call could receive a suspension, per Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
8:27pm: The league issued a statement (via Mark Feinsand of MLB.com) saying it expects to start the regular season on July 23 or 24. Players will be able to opt out of the season, but only those who are at high risk of contracting the coronavirus (or living with a high-risk person or pregnant spouse) will be able to do so while earning full and service time, according to Nightengale, who reports the league will have the right to relocate teams to neutral sites during the regular season and playoffs for health and safety reasons. Also, Nightengale notes that the regular IL will be 10 days for all players. As was reported earlier, there will also be a COVID-19 IL with no specific length.
8:02pm: Teams will play 40 games against divisional opponents and 20 interleague contests versus geographic counterparts (East v. East, for example), Heyman reports. As expected, there will be a DH in the NL, Nightengale relays. Camp will begin July 3, but players will have to show up for spring training no later than July 1, Nightengale adds.
7:33pm: The league and union have reached a deal on health and safety, Karl Ravech of ESPN reports. Players will head to camp before July 1 in order to undergo coronavirus testing, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The next round of spring training will take place in teams’ home cities.
5:32pm: Even though they have made progress, the two sides aren’t guaranteed to reach a deal on health and safety tonight, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. But if they do come to an agreement, the league would “likely” lift its freeze on transactions five days before the players report, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com.
4:45pm: Major League Baseball and the MLBPA are continuing to discuss health and safety protocols for a potential 2020 season, but it doesn’t appear the players will stand in the way of an agreement. The union has informed the league that the players intend to report to spring training 2.0 by July 1, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. A 60-game regular season would begin anywhere from July 24-26.
After months of squabbling between the league and the players, this is finally a welcome bit of good news for those hoping to see a baseball season this year. Because it was unable to reach an agreement on a season with the union, the league decided Monday to announce a 60-game season – which the game’s 30 owners unanimously approved. Meanwhile, the MLBPA stated: “While we had hoped to reach a revised back to work agreement with the league, the Players remain fully committed to proceeding under our current agreement and getting back on the field for the fans, for the game, and for each other.”
The hope is that will happen, though it’s unclear how a season could look. For instance, we don’t know whether some or all teams will play in their home ballparks (that appears especially unlikely for the Blue Jays) because of the coronavirus, which has victimized a slew of people around the sport over just the past few days. And if a season does occur, it looks as if there will be at least a few notable changes to the way things are typically done. The bottom line, though, is that signs continue to point to the start of the 2020 campaign in just a few weeks.
Let’s go!!!!
I might be the only baseball fan in the world who is ok with no NL DH, and no expanded playoffs. If a 60 game season with acrimony was required to keep those things from occurring, at least for a little while, I am ok with it.
Your mileage may vary.
Crud. Apparently I stand corrected on the DH.
You will be good to go if there is a 2021 season. No DH for that year. But if that happens, cherish every minute of it. Cause once both sides do come to an agreement on the next CBA meeting.. if there is one thing that both sides are see’ing eye to eye on, it’s most certainly a DH for all of MLB lol.. next year would be the last year with it.
There’s been no decision made on 2021 DH yet, they said that decision will be made this winter.
I agree
I agree
Literally everyone hates the NL DH idea…
lol smh
not really, there is actually a lot support for it then you know.
Love the NL DH. Glad they’re trying it this year.
I have no idea why people would prefer to watch pitchers flailing away at the plate. I’m a long time NL guy and I used to believe all that “strategy” nonsense. But now I’m all for the DH. We play too many inter league games now to have two sets of rules. I hope it stays forever.
Only people that hate the dh are people who like to see free outs every 3 innings or just likes to see pitchers getting hurt
Not true. Strategy is not nonsense. I don’t care about seeing some players that can’t play the field, just go to the plate and swing for the fences. I like it when pitchers bunt and move runners up.
It is strategy nonsense.
There is no logical reason to oppose the DH, just emotional.
toooldtocare
Lineup card strategy… OK. Not in game strategy.
And it was so much fun to watch Willie Mays become a joke in the 1973 World Series… not.
realistnotsucker… It’s not even the free out that gets me. If the number eight hitter has a chance to drive in a run, he’s pitched around. There are seven hitters in an NL lineup.
” I like it when pitchers bunt and move runners up.”
Hmm. Home run, or a bunt by some slow lumbering pitcher not trying to wind himself. Yeah, the bunt is way more exciting.
We can disagree on that point.
Other than that it’s just a lazy way to allow guys who are only good at half of baseball to stick around longer than they should.
There’s no logical reason to accept the DH. Why not DH for the catcher? The SS? Why have anyone play two ways?
It is very rare for me to see anyone who is pro pitchers hitting these days. They don’t do it in any other league except the majors, it is just not a part of baseball anymore. MLB just has to catch up with the times in this and to be honest in a bunch of other areas.
I certainly do like when pitchers hit, and can stay in game past arbitrary 100 pitch li
It. Small ball is very exciting to me.
*limit
Not true. It depends on the park and who they are playing.
Pitchers, especially relief pitchers are only good at half of baseball too. Should we get rid of them too? Your logic is flawed. Let pitchers do what they’re supposed to do and let the DH do what 99.9% of all pitchers can’t.
Fans who are anti-DH would have probably been against it when the NBA started to allow dunking
I do like it when pitchers bunt. Not when they bunt into double plays and not when they get on with a failed bunt and a fielders choice and not when they bunt with one out.
So sometimes I like the pitcher bunting. But not nearly often enough to justify them hitting.
Small ball is exciting. You mush love the extra inning rule. Of course there is strategy with the extra inning rule, with pitchers bunting… no so much.
Ducey, as a Giants fan, if your hitter was MadBum, there was a few fantastic and super exciting home runs in there (including a # of grand slams). Just saying…
The Neanderthal Hitter is a dumbed down idea for a dumbed down fan base, a pandering to the lowest common denominator. It reduces the rhythms of baseball to a shapeless round robin of mindless clubbing away. It bores me to tears. I doubt if I’ll bother to watch many, if any, of these games. Ah well. Basketball season isn’t too far off.
Any smart team would just have a super utility guy as their “10th” man and then rotate the DH throughout the roster. It doesn’t have to only be a guy who’s bad at defence.
Or they could do away with inter-league games and keep DH out of NL. Lol
I don’t mind watching pitchers hit. Worth the bad at bats to see one get a hit.
And when does that happen? Once a week?
They don’t us wood bats in any other league either. I wouldn’t like aluminum bats in MLB.
A traditional simplistic and bottomlessly dishonest assessment of why longtime baseball fans detest the DH. My reply in the same viein would be only dull, unimaginative people would like to see the same interminable rotation of mammoth hunters swinging from their brains stems while the manager snores away in the dugout and no conjunctions of circumstance bring him to having to use his wits. As far as getting hurt, pitchers hurt themselves pitching and fielding too; I’ve never seen a pitcher tear an otherwise intact rotator cuff swinging at a knuckleball. And I dare say they don’t get hurt batting any more often than any other player on the field does.
Have they posted the divisional and schedule set up?
That comment is only worth a single word reply: baloney.
I love the DH in the lineup for the Cubs. They can put up this lineup now.. 1)Bryant 2) Baez 3) Rizzo 4) Schwarber 5) Contreas 6) Heyward 7) Happ 8) Almora 9) Souza JR
You mean like closers?
No both DH and Pitcher in same Lineup would make Game and Rosters more Intersting.
Dave, pitchers won’t likely be used for more than 2-3 innings initially and they’ll be the most vulnerable to injury. Teams won’t want them taking any additional risk and the rosters would have to be even larger than 30 (initially) in order to have enough pinch-hitters available if there wasn’t a DH.
There is indeed logic behind the idea.
Old Gator, to make it worse, starting pitchers will have to be quarantined for 4 days following each start. They’ll only be allowed to take the mound every 5th day. Who will have the patience for that!?
Things just keep getting crazier…
Well that’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard. From all that I know and a lot of social media. Plenty prefer it over those that don’t.
Prove it!
They use aluminum bats in the minor leagues ???
I played in the Atlantic League snd sorry only wooden bats there. That was just a clown statement.
The “prove it” was for a post about 50 back. I do not believe many NL fans want the DH.
Please, no alligator tears!
I agree to an extent but I do love when a pitcher hits a double he shouldn’t have. More than that I appreciate the difference that it generates between the two divisions and how it creates a dynamic in the playoffs.
There was 1 successful sacrifice bunt for every 6 games in 2019. That is roughly 1 for every 60 or so pitcher at bats. That is just boring.
It’s been shown that every NL manager handles every pitcher-hitting situation the exact same way almost every time. That’s not “strategy”.
I love the idea of NL DH too.
You can’t just throw it away as strategy nonsense. Half the point of a game is strategy!!!! When you take it away it’s a !@$ing video game. Might as well have Bo Jackson running touchdowns back 100 yards and guys bouncing off his back.
I guess there are no more basball purists left.
Well Halo, obviously you know less than you think about baseball. DH is garbage. Period. Fat, one dimensional players, like Papi, have hope for the future.
If you had even the slightest clue about pitcher coming to bat in a 1-0 game, replace or let bat type decisions you might get it. But…you are an Angels fan….in one of the single worst ballparks in america. Talk about polishing a turd.
Go back to your video game, and “back, back, back” juiced ball version of baseball. American League is truly the junior curcuit.
I hate the NL DH idea, but the players love it, because it likely means higher salaries as a DH replaces an end-of-the-bench player.
I also understand the reasoning, don’t get me wrong – protecting the pitchers’ health is the most compelling argument in my opinion. I’ll just be sad to see another change from baseball as it was when it was a kid in the 80s growing up in a National League city (San Diego).
The idea that the DH makes a big difference in offense is not borne out statistically. You could looking it up. I have. The reason why is obvious and logical but hardly anybody goes for obvious or logical in this debate.
The DH should have been added to the NL years ago. Who wants to watch an almost automatic out?
And I’m a Baseball purest in most ways. But the DH in the NL is long overdue!
I’d rather axe interleague play, and forget the NL DH idea. The World Series felt more special when two clubs met for the first time.
Old Gator well said. The long ball is overrated and vastly boring. There’s no strategy when 7 out of your lineup are swinging for the fences
The NBA disallowed dunking? How old does one have to be to know this?
I’m pretty old, and though I am not an NBA fan, I did not know this.
I do know it was at one time disallowed by the NCAA.
Need constant stimulation do you Javia?
Yeah, we are out here. Just hard to compete with these millennial cretins.
Or fans of anti-DH like the strategy of the game and adds more intrigue.
Nebraska, stay ignorant.
Ah yes, the doped comparison by dopey Ducey. How about this; pick up a glove and use it. If you can’t, retire. Pitchers, work on hitting and lay off the video games. Can’t hit? Don’t expect to win games.
Logic. Figure it out.
“Hmm. Home run, or a bunt by some slow lumbering pitcher not trying to wind himself. Yeah, the bunt is way more exciting.”
Bartolo’s home run (his at bats in general), Bumgarner, Hyun Jin Ryu’s homer, Kenta’s home run in his MLB debut, Kershaw’s HR/Shutout on opening day, for me these moments make the game so fun (especially when you’re witnessing it in person) that they outweigh the negative aspects of not having a DH.
Wow, you want to pick examples?
Anyone of them come close to comparing to Ortiz or Edgar or Ohtani.
Examples are easy.
Yes, they died out at the turn of the century… the 20th century.
Because the game is constantly changing, there is no such thing as a baseball purist.
No one wants the DH and it should be removed from baseball. Senior Circuit is the true league.
I wouldn’t say “no one,” but I don’t think NL fans are happy about it. I agree it should be dumped altogether, but then AL managers would suddenly be required to think again. That could get ugly in a hurry.
Do you think figuring out the double switch requires an ounce of brains.
Bob Boone, a Stanford graduate, who manged in both leagues, says it’s harder to manage in the AL than the NL. It’s harder to handle a pitching staff in the AL than the NL.
That is something that should be obvious to fans who follow baseball and not just the NL or the AL.
I’ve heard that Bob Boone comment recycled any time this issue comes up, but I have yet to hear his explanation of why.
When Bob Boone managed the royals. The Kansas City Star had a Booneometer to track all the different lineups he started. There were a lot of things managing in the AL that were a challenge for Mr Boone.
Second that maybe.
In the AL, the manager has to make a decision as to how long to keep in his starter in a close game. The starter may be pitching well, and the manager had to evaluate how much longer he can be left in before the hitters get to him. In the NL, it’s much more likely that the situation calls for the pitcher to get pulled for a pinch hitter.
Maybe, is it because AL Pitchers give up more runs than NL Pitchers?
I looked at the AL & NL ERA Leaders for the last 5 years & The NL had the lowest in 4 of the 5 years. I could not find the league average for NL vs AL total ERA.
In fairness, is it harder to handle an AL pitching staff, or just harder for Bob Boone to handle a pitching staff? I get he went to Stanford, and it’s a prestigious school, and so on. There are all types of intelligence, however. Lawyers are smart. Doctors are smart. They all wouldn’t be capable of just switching jobs, though.
Yep
I gave you the explanation. It’s harder to manage a pitching staff.
In the NL, starting pitching changes are easier. When their batting spot comes up later in the game, you take them out.
Appalachian_Outlaw
The Boone family has three generations of players. He’s one of the best handler of pitchers in the history of baseball. His son is managing the Yankees.
You don’t think Boone has baseball intelligence?
I’m sure he’s plenty baseball smart, Halo. It just seems to me, if he felt handling the AL staff was harder, maybe he just didn’t enjoy handling pitching strategy? Managing an AL bullpen really should be almost autopilot.
He also won more games in the AL than he did managing in the NL. Which, if the AL is the supposed harder league to manage in, doesn’t add up.
You’re not. I can’t stand the DH. it’s like being stuck in Cleveland for three hours – boring as the day is long. People whine about pitchers “flailing away” but they’re fine with gimpy half-tool players who couldn’t catch up with a bowling ball rolling down the line and swing the bat like a bunch of Neanderthals. Go figger.
Yes how dare those AL managers be forced to have to think about the hard decisions like NL Managers!!!! Like pitching around the 8th hitter to get to a pitcher who hits like a 3rd grader playing against high schoolers!!! Wowweeeee is it fun to watch someone who is vastly overmatched get decimated!
Maybe they can start a new TV series called “ man wrestles gorilla” for all the disappointed NL fans!!!!
That’s not the point and your comment is transparently sententious. Yes, it adds drama, and it adds surprise, when the pitcher comes to bat – or when, better yet, a manager has to decide whether to remove a pitcher who’s doing well for a chance to drive in a critical run, and then either have his move pay off or blow up in his face. It’s about the same when a .212 hitting shortstop comes to bat against a pitcher who’s pitching well – once again, “overmatched” and yet some truly exhilarating moments have come out of such matchups. And it adds texture to the game. Neanderthalhitterball has no texture, no rhythm – it’s just a mindless round robin of club-swingers for mindless fans who think offense is the whole of the game. Well, from now on, sadly, it pretty much will be. Snore.
Stats show that last year, pitchers hit for a combined .128 and struck out 43.5%
.115 average in 2018
Managers still have to manage. Pinch hitters, double switches, defensive replacements, bullpens
Bring on the DH
“a manager has to decide whether to remove a pitcher who’s doing well for a chance to drive in a critical run”. Not really. Today, because of long-ball, pitchers get pulled early, and the manager will almost always pull a pitcher for a hitter if the situation calls for it. These supposed “strategic” decisions are automatic. And there’s no .212 hitting shortstops anymore, at least on any team that expects to be a contender; SS is supposed to carry its weight on offense . Every team, NL or AL, is full of sluggers; especially NL teams, who are already stuck with one hole in their lineup. There’s more strategy in the AL, at least with regard to pitching, as a manager has to make a guess how long his starter can last before he runs out of gas; in the same situations, in the NL, he just gets lifted for a pinch hitter.
AssumeFactsNotInEvidence
My point is strategy. How could you not get that point?
I’m all for no NL DH. I think it works and don’t see a reason for the change. I actually liked the all star game home field advantage rule so I know I’m likely in the minority.
There will be a DH in the NL. It is part of the Health and Safety Protocols.
So should Expanded Playoffs,Trading 365 days a Year/with other Leagues/in Draft and Geographical Realignment.
It got us baseball this year. I like strategy as part of the NL.
I hate the idea of expanded playoffs and prefer the NL to have no DH. Manfred needs to keep his hands off baseball. Of course minor changes will need to be made, but changes this big are just dumb.
NL prospect pitchers rarely bat in the minors. If position prospects accumulate up to 2000 MiLB plate appearances, NL pitching prospects might accumulate less than 100 PAs. AL pitching prospects, 0 PAs. Its no longer logical to include pitchers in MLB lineups.
dugmet
How many baseball discussions center around logic?
Most center around hyperbole. The DH conversation is an example of that.
Logic need not apply to this one for sure and strangely enough neither do statistics. Anybody willing to pick up a piece of paper, a pencil, and a calculator can do a quick and dirty estimation of how much impact the DH should have on offense, which will be in the low single digits. They can then compare the annual league statistics over a bunch of years to see if their estimation is true in reality. They will find that it is. Why are so many fans willing to debate this until they are blue in the face without ever verifying the reality?
It should be left up to the pitcher if he wants a DH in his spot. Their used to be a few good hitting pitchers in MLB.
And it should be up to the Left Fielder if he wants to play CF?
So if your favorite player has a spouse that’s pregnant you can be sure he won’t play and he’ll get paid 2 months of salary.
I have no issues with that.
Manfredsajoke
Mike Trout for example. I have no issue with someone not wanting to play in this environment. No one should.
PLAY BALL!!!!!
It’s a joke. Nobody cares anymore. We have NASCAR, golf, tennis, and then basketball. Then football. Baseball is over.
Then what are you even doing here? Leave baseball fans alone and go watch your exciting golf and tennis and your white trash nascar if you want. Same with the NBA – who cares? Give me baseball any day.
okay cmon man. “white trash nascar?” what on earth is that supposed to mean?
“white trash nascar? Seriously. Roll eyes.
NASCAR has proved itself recently to be a joke. NFL has been a joke for many years. NBA is like watching grass grow. Golf and tennis on TV are even worse than the NBA.
Smokin Joe Charboneau
You have something in common. You’ve proven yourself to be in joke.
Alright! Now we will be able to crown the obscure team that surprises everyone in this 60-game schedule!
2020 World Series Champion Marlins! Jesus Aguilar NL and World Series MVP!
Tigers, with the help of their taxi squad!
Tigers Pitching Staff for 2020:
Boyd
Norris
Turnbull
Nova
Fulmer
Zimmermann
Mize
Skubal
Burrows
Farmer
Jimenez
Everyone is in the Bullpen. Each pitcher will pitch 4 innings per game unless pulled early. Jimenez comes in to Close if that ever happens.
Os Marlins world series LFG
No! I want the O’s to be the worst team in this bastardized season so they can get the 1./1 next year and draft Kumar Rocker. Please let this happen.
His uncle John must be thrilled at that.
Surely you’re joking?
I never joke. And don’t call me Shirley.
Are they playing spring training games against other teams or just working out with their team?
Probably the latter.
So how soon will a new schedule be out.
They should start with natural competitors.
White Sox-Cubs Yankees-Mets Indians-Reds ect
Just glad to have the game back.
You would think they’d only play within the division. You have 4 division opponents. 60 games would be 15 per team.
Then again Manfred could completely screw that up as well.
3 divisions of 10. So it’ll be 6 or 7 games per opponent.
Who cares
Obviously you do
taking a lot of effort to say you dont care…makes no sense
I like that post much better..
Yes Mets in same division with Red Sox and Yankees we can hope.
Broadsword calling Danny boy!
Where will they report? I thought all camps were closed down.
Home ballparks is what I was hearing today on my local sports radio station.
time for the greedy babies to play
time for the greedy babies to play
Hey Babe. I thought you made more than the President because you had a better year?
Still a shame that there will be no Major League Baseball on July 4 for the second time in its history and the first time since 1981.
Friend of mine that train some players in off-season said few weeks ago the only holdup in health and safety protocols was the “one night stand rule” MLB wants only family or long term relationships have access to team hotels. Players are against this.
Link to the article! NOW!!!
Players such as Dave Stewart and Mark Grace have proven that access to a hotel room is not necessary for their carnal pleasures. Public bathrooms are fine.
So we are back to 10 teams making the playoffs, if I understood Steve Adam’s correctly, due to the Commissioner imposing a season.
Manfred planning to nix the deal and cancel the season.
?
Manfred imposed the deal.
… and the season will be cancelled by July 10.
Book it.
I doubt I’ll even watch. Too tired of labor troubles that will continue well past the next 12 months.
Well, it seems we are a go for a season. Yea, sure, there is always something that could stand in the way but at this point, it appears the two sides are done trying to pull stunts and want to get back to playing baseball. Let’s get it started.
All pro sports should be cancelled for 2020. There is not only too great a risk for players and their families to become infected with COVID-19, but also the possibility of infected individuals being plagued with chronic lung damage after they recover from their acute infections. Younger players may be able to handle COVID-19 adequately, but older participants like umpires, referees, and team personnel may not be able to handle the disease quite so easily. Even if MLB can squeeze in a 60-game season, there will still be complaints many players never reached their usual mid-season form or played scared. So, what’s the point?
honestly though, if the league is willing to have games and players are willing to report i think that argument is mootm they’re the ones in the situation and have made their choice.
If calmer heads prevailed, they would not have made the decision to play. There is very little to be gained by playing a 2020 season.
That is your opinion, one not shared by the majority of fans.
Baseball is part of the entertainment industry, and like any industry, it wants to get back to work. So many businesses are trying to restart now with a new normal. Baseball is no different. There are a lot of regular people whose livelihood is dependent on baseball. Their jobs are just as important as the factory worker, accountant, teacher, waitress, etc.
tigerdoc, watching defenseless people being killed by lions in a crowded arena was once considered entertainment in ancient Rome. When you think about it, exposing young athletes and not-so-young coaches and umpires to a highly contagious virus might not be much different. If we all wait a few more months for a vaccine, everyone will be able to get back to work and return to a normal world where baserball can be played without limitations and watched without reservation. In the meantime, there are no guarantees. As far as my opinion “not being shared by the majority of fans,” please provide me with a reference to the research that confirms your hypothesis. For the record, nobody with an IQ higher than their body temperature wants to see innocent people infected with COVID-19 so Americans can be entertained for 60 days.
The chances of making it 3 weeks of spring training without shutting down is?
If the current rate of COVID-19 infections in MLB players and their families is any indication, the MLB season may be over before the scheduled spring training ends. This is a classic case where the definite risk of acquiring one of the most contagious diseases in the history of mankind does not equal the potential benefits of playing 60 baseball games.
Ok….you seem to favor no sports at all and that’s fine. Don’t watch. For those who would like to see sports again this is good news. There will be precautions. No player who is concerned about their own safety will not be forced to play.
I would like to see sports resume as much as anyone, but not at the cost of innocent people becoming seriously ill or spreading a highly contagious disease to others who could die from the malady. Don’t kid yourself about players concerned with their own safety not being forced to play. There is a financial disincentive for players not to play as well as tremendous peer pressure to be one of the guys and show up for games like everyone else on the team.
It is not even close to the most contagious diseases in the history of mankind. Sheesh. Ro is 1-2 range . Small pox is 5, measles is 9. Get a clue. It’s also less deadly than the flu for those under 80. This stuff is NOTHING.
I think the families of the close to 500k dead worldwide (so far) would disagree with your assessment that “this stuff is nothing”
ekrog, look up the meaning of the word, contagious, before you start comparing measles to COVID-19, likening COVID-19 to the flu in people under 80, and calling the plague of the 21st century NOTHING. This pandemic is far from over, and underestimating the lethal potential of COVID-19 only promises to prolong the pandemic’s duration. Unfortunately, MLB appears to be seriously underestimating what COVID-19 may be capable of doing to players, teams and the integrity of a sport.
I’m a scientist so I know what contagious means. I also read scientific developments daily. I can tell you your fears are unfounded unless you are extremely sick with a comorbidity condition or extremely old.
That’s me. I don’t disagree with myself.
Just what type of scientist are you? I’m legitimately curious.
Ekrog your numbers are all mixed up and I think nobody here will even consider what you are saying as important or intelligent. It is kind of you to share though, thank you. And stop calling it a disease please.
ekrog, do you have any idea how many 30 and 40 year old health care professionals have acquired COVID-19 and been left with permanent lung damage or have died from COVID-19? The numbers are staggering. Of course, as a scientist who “reads scientific developments daily,” I’m sure you already knew this.
imagine being such a wimp. jesus the younger generations are weaklings…..
Holy stupid post…wow Karen.
id have to imagine they get through. if they are even trying then i inagine they will push through seperated teams getting it.
why only giving teams 5 days?
The season is a go. They are not going to shut it down.
Don’t bet on it
I’m assuming this means no All-Star Game?
Give them a month to debate it back and forth, then allow time to argue about the revenue. More time for the union to vote. Once they agree, it can be played Thanksgiving weekend, perhaps Christmas Eve.
Do you remember “Boardwalk And Baseball?” It was an amusement park in Haines City, Florida, not far from Disneyworld. It replaced Circus World in 1987 and ran until 1990. It had multiple baseball fields, as well as a minor league complex, where the Kansas City Royals held spring training and their minor league team played every summer. The park’s claim to fame was there was at least one baseball game there every day of the year. It also had a nice boardwalk and rides. With its carnival atmosphere and baseball presence, it was a nice change from Orlando’s other theme parks.
Yes and use Orlando as host city.
In case any of the players or owners read these comments, and because the sides didn’t have to agree to do anything, I’d like to say THANK YOU. Better late than never.
Must be nice to be in the Central. Cupcake matchups all year long.
Yes Twins playing Cubs and Brewers with White Sox in forth place.
Cardinals and Astros would be battling for first place with Rangers and Royals for 3rd and 4th place.
In California Division A’s would be battling Dodgers for first place.
In Southeast Rays have more chance to win division. In Centraleast more chance to Lindor because could win division over Reds maybe.
Just begin play on July 1
Sure… you tell Max Scherzer and his $30 mil a year arm, go out there with a week’s notice, there is no chance of injury there
I wonder how many “transactions” have already been agreed to, by GMs who haven’t had much else going on these past few months.
And how many are going to be the result of the new economic realities.
I think that starting Monday, this could be a very active site.
The answer is zero.
One, why even start with conspiracies. Two, too many uncertainties have and continue to exist for anyone to be making back room deals.
One, nowhere did I sugest that there are any “conspiracies”. Two, dealing with uncertainties and contingencies are skills you need to run a candy store, never mind a MLB club.
That GM “A” and GM “B” have agreed to a deal within the parameters of the pandmic is how adults do things.
Whew…….
Isn’t there a ban on those types of deals? Your premise is they may have circumvented those restrictions and therefore conspired with each other to set up the parameters of a trade.
I was unaware that there was a “ban” on discussing such deals. That would presume that no trades are even discussed after the trading (waiver period, etc.) deadline.
I don’t believe we’ll see many deals at all this ‘season’ for a few reasons. The biggest, by the time teams typically feel like they know what they are, the season will be drawing to a close. Also, trading for a player also brings with it a risk of bringing a virus into a clubhouse.
The offseason may be especially busy, otoh.
I certainly agree that the off season will be total madness. With new economic realities, non-tenders will be flying all over the place, as Jeff Todd noted.
But there are certainly some well-healed “cusp” teams, like the Red Sox and Jays, who may look at their respective rosters, see the talent that’s there, and think, “OK, we were going to wash 2020, but with a 60 game season……”
Those teams (and others; Cubs, e.g.) depend much more on their RSNs for profit than how manny fannies they put into the seats. And you know who watches NESN when the Sox are out of it? Little old grandmothers in Maine who think “Benentndi is such a cute boy”. This is especially true as New England anticipates a universe post-Brady.
Teams that don’t own their RSNs? Very little motivation to suceed. It won’t do anything for attendance; there might not even be any attendance. Teams like that wil probably use the 60 games more for training than anything else.
Put those two types of teams together, you get a lot of volitility. And I’m sure (these are some pretty smart peole) that the volitilty has already been reacted to.
I like the DH in the NL. For those that say the NL has more strategy…pfffft. Taking out pitchers based on when they bat that is just mind bending strategy.
Interleague is asinine.
Interleague is idiotic
Anyone who thinks they’re getting a single game in is an idiot.
Period.
Is that the only way people can be on par with you?
Anyone who thinks that baseball will not get this season off is an idiot. Exclamation point!
So here is the deal I am extremely happy excited that baseball is coming back Let’s go Bravesss. Now I am not going to lie I absolutely hate the rule starting in 10th inning have runner be place at 2nd base with no out. This honestly takes the drama exciting entertainment from extra inning baseball.
@sportsfan
D’accord.
I’d’ve rather had tie games. Sadly, it would appear no one consulted with either you or myself on this.
It’s good for the few players who have health problems or live with someone with health concerns to be able to opt out and still get paid. However, I was surprised to see the “Mike Trout” clause about having a pregnant spouse. As his kid is due in August, my guess is Trout won’t play. I’m fine with that. In my life, family first, always. Just thought that was an interesting twist as I had not heard one thing to date about the “pregnant wife clause.”
Once a player opts out there is no going back, right? They can’t say six weeks in I want back in?
Mike Trout has sounded enthusiastic about the start of the season. So, I’m not sure, he’ll opt out. Bryce Harper and his wife just announced their new pregnancy. I’m not sure how Harper feels about playing a limited season, However, he had a monster spring training before it was cancelled. So, he may opt to play. I hadn’t heard about the pregnancy waiver before today. I wonder how long players have known about the waiver and how many players who have misgivings about playing this season have been working hard with their wives to qualify for the waiver. The whole idea gives new reason to call an infielder a sacker.
We were locked in our homes for three months. I would think every ball player would have a pregnant wife.
That’s why they call it America’s Game!
Mike Trout is going to play. The question is ow long is he going to be out.
I doubt he’ll be home in New Jersey one day and back in the lineup a couple days later.
The umpires are gonna take advantage of that rule. They gonna have a diva attitude and take over some games
These games are garbage anyway. I look at this season as a batch of exhibition games and hopefully an asterisk for the WS winner.
I don’t think the World Series winner will be viewed differently from any other, especially as time marches forward. Nobody has slapped an asterisk on the Redskins when the won Super Bowl XVII.
The asterisk is for an offensive team name.
How many rubarbs do you see now? Replay has taken them almost all of them away.
Lol that new arguing with the umpire rule is awesome.
Will umpires stand 6 feet behind the catcher? Lol
Large volumes of saliva droplets are the issue while players and managers are jawing with umpires.
I’m much more concerned about the health of umpires, some of whom are older and overweight. I hope they are at least well compensated and looked after.
Droplets containing COVID-19 can remain suspended in air for surprisingly long periods of time. When the droplets finally deposit on an object, the COVID-19 contaminated object can remain infectious for a number of days – metal (face masks and spikes) and wood (bats) longer than cloth. Older individuals, especially those with medical conditions (being overweight is one such condition) have not typically handled COVID-19 very well. So, umps, coaches and team personnel have to be especially careful. If nothing else, the 2020 MLB season promises to be an interesting scientific experiment. Significantly, unfortunate results are a very real possibility..
That scientific experiment was already conducted 2 months ago, and conclusively showed that is false. If it were the case it would be much more contagious and masks would be useless.
Science has proven both claims false, and it has proved itself in real life. It is also less deadly than the flu for those under 80. Please read some current medical or scientific abstracts (at least).
@ekrog
Thank you.
In my part of the country the fear of Covid-19 has done significantly more damage than the actual disease has.
Some of us have continued to work through all of this. Hat tip to all my fellow essential industry fellas.
Good work.
I guess… well, it’s sorta time for everyone to get back to work now as well. Uh?
Sorry if that’s a bummer for some folks.
Post your sources please. I have read a lot of the literature on this (it is literally my job) and everything I have read has shown COVID-19 has a higher mortality rate than the seasonal flu across all age groups.
tigerdoc616
People are in denial. It’s a very contagious flu and for a flu, has a very high mortality rate.
I not only read current medical and scientific abstracts, but I have already published two articles on COVID-19 in the medical literature. I’d send you links to the articles, but both articles have words with more than two syllables. Please stop posting misinformation and criticizing those with something worthwhile to say.
COVID-19 is one of the most contagious viruses ever known to man. The only virus that is still active and scares doctors more at the present time is ebola. There’s a difference between scientific experiments conducted by qualified individuals and the kind you’re reading – the kind that couldn’t win last place in a junior high school science fair. I know it’s probably a waste of time trying to share with you legitimate scientific knowledge, but unless everyone starts paying closer attention to COVID-19, we’ll all be in for a very long ride. Please stay well.
Lou Pinella would NOT be happy with a socially-distanced style of umpire-arguing
He can still throw second base.
With the new social distancing regulations in MLB, how far does a manager have to be from an umpire to kick dirt at him???!!! On a good day, Pinella could have kicked dirt on the home plate umpire from centerfield.
Mic em up
Whatever. What’s the point of even having a 2020 season, if fans can’t be there banging a trashcan every time the Astros are at the plate.
It is time. Robot umps.
Gosh. No arguing within 6 ft of umps.. we’ll definitely see a handful of suspensions… some umps are so bad they are bound to trigger a sub 6 ft argument. Angel Hernandez, Joe West. Those guys live for triggering arguments
I’m certainly happy they are trying to play. The virus will decide if it happens.
If they play, bring in the DH. I have seen pitchers try to hit For 60 years. I’m good.
Viruses don’t decide. People do. Hopefully ones who have followed the scientific findings about how innocuous this is for healthy people.
Ah. Science. Sadly, you know nothing of it. Nice try though. I mean you used the word innocuous in a sentence. Good for you.
And the scientific findings are 600-800k deaths if this plays out without a vaccine. Brings new meaning to the word innocuous. By definition they won’t be healthy people. In fact they will be dead people, which is just about as unhealthy as it gets. But it’s fine so long as none of them are you or anybody you care about, right?
ekrog, Congratulations on yet another clueless post. You think you’re quoting science, but you’re really quoting science fiction.
This umpire thing seems so unfair to the legacy of Earl Weaver. Is there no respect for tradition anymore?
What makes you think anyone on either side respects tradition?
Why am I envisioning clowns like Angel Hernandez baiting players, managers and coaches to get close to him?
Trust me, you aren’t alone in thinking that
Who’s the other one? Joe West? Right?
I think the sign of a bad umpire is when I know their name.
Essentially, I can name two.
So does this mean they have to use megaphones?
Arguing a call? That’s so 2000’s.
Should be can’t get within 6 feet of video monitor.
MLB: Baseball is back!!
MLB Network: Meh we will keep showing the same boring junk you haven’t been watching for the last 3 months.
I’ve actually liked watching the old hockey and baseball games, but yeah, I don’t need to watch the same 12 games over and over. They have decades of games they could air, but they decided to be absurdly lazy instead.
So if you argue and aren’t beyond 6 feet of the umpire, your’re ejected. However, the umpire sits over the catcher for 9 innings, and is definitely within 6 feet of the batter. Does this make any sense at all???
They just want to prevent someone to get right up on the umpires face. It may all be symbolic but it not a terrible idea. I’m sure the umpire’s union made that request.
The rule should apply to the umpires as well. If they move towards a player, manager or coach, they should get suspended.
The biggest argument for allowing pitchers to hit is, after throw at someone, they have to come up to the plate themselves!
I’m kidding. Look, most pitchers were also the best shortstops and athletes in their teams growing up. The days they weren’t pitching they were in the lineup somewhere else.
All this “protecting if arms” has lead to the most TJ surgeries in the history of the game.
Damn typing skills stink, sorry…
If travelers from Florida have to quarantine for 14 days when traveling to New York, how is Spring training going to happen for the Mets/Yankees? If nothing changes, how will games be played against the Marlins and Rays?
Is there an essential worker exemption for MLB?… lol
…or Texas, California, Arizona…
So be it. Just put a big asterisk on this 2020 season. In the end, it will not be a World Series champion and don’t try to call it that. Good luck, stay healthy.
As of 6/24/20, there are 2,400,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 123,000 deaths from COVID-19 in the United States, with cases on the rise in the majority of states and new cases of COVID-19 infections in major league baseball players and their families being reported daily. What are the odds of MLB completing a 60-game season by October?
Does this mean Dodgers and Astros will play?
Still think there will be baseball?
“New York, Connecticut and New Jersey will require visitors from states with high infection rates of the coronavirus to quarantine for 14 days, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday. (June 24)
AP
As coronavirus cases continue to rise in most states, the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced a joint travel advisory Wednesday requiring all individuals traveling from states with significant community spread to quarantine for 14 days.”
FYI, this most likely includes includes Florida, Texas, California, Arizona…
Here is the current list of states that will require mandatory 14 day quarantines prior to entering New York:
. The quarantine orders will apply to visitors from the following states:
Alabama
Arkansas
Arizona
Florida
North Carolina
South Carolina
Utah
Texas
Washington (state of)
I wonder. Will Mets and Yankees personnel and players all be required to quarantine for 2 weeks when RETURNING to NY from Florida or their homes in the states listed above? If not, why not? Will this be a double standard?