At a time when no one really knows what’s going on with anything, Major League Baseball is working to figure out when teams can get together and play again.
As service time concerns are being sifted through and schedule ideas are being thrown around, MLB super agent Scott Boras says he has a plan.
Let’s play the World Series on Christmas Day.
In Boras’ pitch, the MLB season would play its full 162 games, and the playoffs would go on as usual… Just in December, not October. Here’s more from the LA Times.
[Boras] believes a June start is “well within the vision of what could be,” and said he has submitted proposals to Major League Baseball for a 162-game season that would begin June 1 and a 144-game season that would start July 1.
Both feature a playoff schedule that would run Dec. 3-26, complete with wild-card games, five-game division series, seven-game championship series and a seven-game World Series. Postseason games would be played in eight domed stadiums and three Southern California stadiums.
The more thought you give it, the more you might actually start to be on board.
I just want baseball. Even if i can't go watch in person and even if teams are playing in neutral stadiums. https://t.co/12OyVmmYuO
— Clint Pasillas (FRG) (@realFRG) March 25, 2020
If all of us here want baseball, it will come with some sacrifices for sure. Whether it’s teams not playing in their home ballparks or even in empty stadiums, there will be radical changes from the norm upcoming. And radical could be an understatement for the often conservative MLB.
“We have it all mapped out. It’s workable. We’ve done climate studies, and in Southern California, the average temperature in December is 67 degrees, which is better than late March and early April in most cities. We have 11 stadiums we could play postseason games in. I’m gonna get my neutral-site World Series after all.” – Scott Boras
Moreover, in the opinion of Boras, players want to play all games and that’s understandable. So much for a professional baseball player is based around time spent on the active roster and games played. And with players like Mookie Betts in platform seasons as they head toward free agency, a desire to put together 162 games worth of stats means the world.
All this said, the idea of a full season and baseball into the winter months really doesn’t seem likely. There are just way too many variables — from playing in neutral cities, pushing the next season back, altering the free agency period, etc. — for the conservative MLB to consider. More likely expect a reduced schedule and early empty ballparks at minimum.
NEXT: MLB May Get Creative to Play As Many Games As Possible
