We Somehow Made It Here: My Thoughts As A Most Unique 2020 MLB Season Kicks Off

It has been a long four months for our country. There has been a lot of unrest and general low morale among most of America’s citizens. Throughout our history we have had times of great turmoil and upheaval, and sports, especially baseball have always been there to help us heal. Due to the nature of one of the main sources of turmoil, the Coronavirus, sports have been unable to create some semblance of normalcy and unity this time around, and that has made 2020 extra challenging. There was much doubt any sports seasons would be able to resume or get off the ground. However, baseball is set to usher in the return of sports, though one unlike any other, as any major sporting events this year will more than likely be without any fans in stadiums and ballparks.

As we are set to finally begin the 2020 Major League Baseball season, it would be almost an understatement to say it has been a long, eventful, and unprecedented off season. In fact, it has probably been the most controversial and news making offseason since the 1994-1995 offseason that saw the players’ strike cancel the playoffs and World Series in 1994 and spill into the canceling of 18 regular season games in 1995. Fans were angry and outraged and for understandable reasons. This year, as we all know, we have had the first suspension of games at the start of the season for the first time since 25 years ago, and man it was a long suspension due to multiple factors, the main one being the Coronavirus. More on that later.

This off season was initially shrouded in the 2017 Houston Astros scandal and fans were, and are still, really angry and justifiable so. Yet, this time, and in this instance, unlike in 1995, not only are the fans angry, but the players on just about every other Major League club are ticked off, and many haven’t been shy about saying so! Despite Commissioner Rob Manfred’s warning that any pitcher that umpires deam intentionally through at an Astros batter will be suspended and fined, it is easy to anticipate some pitchers won’t care and will chuck pitches in the general direction of many Astros hitters. While there no longer will be fans in attendance at games this year, one wonders if pitchers will still ignore Manfred’s warning. It will be something to keep an eye on, especially early on. Will the Astros get off easy due to the long delay due to COVID19, or will they have to take their lumps? Only time will tell.

There is also the scandal associated with the 2018 Boston Red Sox cheating in similar manners, and the fallout from that, which some feel Manfred’s punishment was too lenient on them, as their replay guy J.T. Watkins took most of the fall on their behalf, along with the loss of a draft pick. Will they also have some backlash from pitchers? Again a storyline to follow as things get underway.

Then of course there is the biggest story, the Coronavirus epidemic that hit our country in early March, with the first confirmed cases in Ohio coming to light on March 9th. March 12th is a day that will live in the history books as the day the sports world and general entertainment industry as a whole came to halt. Following the example of the NBA on the evening of March 11th, MLB, the NHL and the MLS suspended their seasons. For baseball specifically, it meant the cancelling of the rest of Spring Training and the first three and half months of the regular season’s scheduled games. The Indians had already been off since sweeping a split squad set of games on March 9th due to a scheduled off day and back to back rainouts of exhibition games.

Once it was determined in May that MLB wanted to try and get as many games played as possible, a well documented fight between the Commissioner’s Office and Players Union began. I don’t need to rehash all that here, but I will say both parties embarrassed themselves as they squabbled over money and amount of games to be played, with an original plan to get the season started by July 4th with an 82 game schedule scrapped, and things coming down to Rob Manfred setting a schedule of 60 games, per his allowance in the March agreement all parties signed when the virus first halted Spring Training.

The fallout from these horrific negotiations will linger as a new bargaining agreement will be needed after the 2021 season, yet, if history teaches us anything, it is that baseball will survive that and come out the other side. It has survived many scandals and challenges in it’s now 119 years of professional status. It made it through the Black Sox Scandal, two world wars, multiple players strikes, and the steroid era, just to name a few. It survived those and it will survive this too.

This season, at least initially, will also be without fans in the stands, and that too is unprecedented. While teams are piping in crowd noise and blasting music over the PA system, as if fans were in attendance, things will still look a bit odd on TV. On a personal note, this will be the first baseball season I haven’t attended at least one Indians game since 1997. A 22 year streak will likely come to and end this year.

However, despite all these unique circumstances, when the umpire yells ‘play ball’ at all 15 major league ballparks between tonight and tomorrow, weather permitting of course, it will signal it is officially time to put the tumultuous off season in the rearview mirror, and look instead forward to a three hour distraction from ongoing challenges we are facing. The 2020 season should most assuredly bring a much needed break from the constant news! A 60 game sprint is about to take off! Hang on tight fans!