On the TunneySide of Sports July 13, 2020 #804 Up next… “We’re Back!”
After further review… The recent announcement from Major League Baseball (MLB) after it was shut down in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 is “We’re Back!” However, America’s game may not be the same game that you and I admired as kids. Baseball has always been steeped in tradition, perhaps more than any other sport. But don’t kid yourself, this 2020 season will be different than ever before.
Because it will not be the normal-length season, baseball will be able to experiment with many changes — some of which may be retained when the season again becomes normal. This 2020 season is planned for 60 games – Stay tuned!
Here are a few of the suggested changes:
First off, it will be a season played without fans and maybe at neutral locations. The first games are scheduled to start on July 23rd and July 24th. During this season, at some sites, there may be a doubleheader, certainly not new to baseball, but played more often than the usual scheduling in order to get in as many games as possible.
All pitchers, both starting and relief, must face at least three batters before being taken out or at least until the inning is over. No more “Loogy” (left-handed one-out guys).
Some of the other suggestions, and at this writing still to be agreed upon by both the MLB management and the players union, are to eliminate or at least curtail visits to the mound with social distancing in mind.
Both the National and American leagues will use the DH (designated hitter) which was previously used only by the American League. This move eliminates the pitcher as a batter thus providing more offensive power. Pitchers have been notoriously poor hitters.
Challenge time (the time a manager has in order to challenge an on-field ruling) reduced from 30 seconds to 20 seconds.
The “26th man” has now been changed to the “27th man” since rosters have been increased.
Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic and since the virus is more likely to be spread from coughing, sneezing, or spitting, it is recommended that there will be none of that in the dugout. Further, it is suggested that players in the dugout may not eat and spit-out sunflower seeds. This is likely to change the lifestyle of many players. Many, too many, chew tobacco and must spit out the juices. This could be a major lifestyle change. (Editorial note – And for the good of all!)
Will you watch “America’s Game” in this pandemic season?
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