Okay, So What’s the Deal with Opening Day?
With the majority of the country stuck in their homes trying to figure out how to navigate the unprecedented predicament we’re all in, a question on the minds of baseball fans is “When the heck is Opening Day?”
I don’t know if you’ve heard the news, but it looks like MLB has a plan to get organized baseball up and running by the end of May. Yes, May of this year. And a new Opening Day will be established presumably around the beginning of June. Yes, June of this year.
Of course, there’s also a chance that there might not be any baseball this year, but I am going to just ignore that negativity and adapt the optimistic mindset that makes America the great nation it is. Normally, I would say “positive mindset,” but right now it seems the worst thing that can happen to you is finding out you’re “positive.”
The way they are going to pull off a season seems to be a bit unclear, because, well, everything is unclear these days. First off, the league plans to make sure they get the CDC to sign off on any plan, so that players, coaches and staff can feel a bit less like lambs being led to slaughter. That’s good.
If the season starts by June 1, we’re probably looking at something in the neighborhood of 110-120 games for each team. Playing only two-thirds of the season turns what used to be a marathon into more of a sprint, but not really and actually more like one of those really long-distance races that isn’t a marathon nor a sprint.
It appears the 2020 season will probably start all clustered together in Arizona with crowd-free games. OK, sure whatever it takes. Some teams could double up on using the same stadium. They might pre-schedule double headers. Fine with me. Just start playing some games, fellas.
Maybe teams could move back to their home stadiums as the year progresses and pandemic dissipates. Though it seems unlikely that New York will have that luxury.
With the Arizona set up, we’re talking about no team really having home field advantage, except for the Diamondbacks. But it’s not completely unprecedented, since every game would be a home game for them in the same way that the Yankees fans show up in other stadiums.
Speaking of New York’s best team, one would have to assume that the odds and news updated in SBD’s baseball betting section will have the Yankees as the favorite to represent the American League in the World Series. The delayed start has allowed them to heal up their injured players, and they should be near 100 percent.
They’ll have some tough competition from the Rays, who are used to playing in empty stadiums. The Astros are at a slight disadvantage since they won’t have their home center field camera. But there are lots of trash cans available for purchase in the greater Phoenix area.
Over in the National League, the Dodgers would appear to be the favorite. Last year they had 12 walk off wins at home and were able to feed off their league-leading attendance. So, in Arizona they’ll just have to rely on their overwhelming talent to make it back to the World Series.
I’m not sure the “being used to small crowds” angle will help the Marlins be contenders. But we know for sure that they won’t lose 100 games. See, optimistic mindset. The Nationals would be defending their 2019 championship far from home. However, this is a team that won all of its Word Series road games, so this will be no problem. The good news for Cubs fans is that “stay at home” orders don’t prevent alcohol from being delivered.
There are still quite a few questions up in the air. If there are two games scheduled at one stadium, what happens if the first goes into extra innings? How late into the year are they willing to play? When is the trade deadline? Is there an All-Star Game? Where do minor league teams play?
My answer at this point is “I don’t care.” I just want some baseball.
