CHICAGO — There doesn’t seem to be a perfect solution to the problem of how to restart the baseball season when it’s deemed safe to do so.
The Arizona plan that seems to be the preference of MLB — having all 30 teams play in empty ballparks in the Phoenix area while being sequestered for 4 1/2 months — already has been met with resistance from players opposed to being separated from their families for such a long time.
“I just don’t see that happening,” Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw said. “I’m not going to be away from my family and not see them for four months. I just talked about how much Cooper (his infant son) changes over one week, so to miss four months of his life right now, I’m just not going to do it.”
Bravo for Kershaw and others who have echoed those thoughts. No player should be forced to be away from his family for that long, especially during a time like this. Would the owners, or Commissioner Rob Manfred, agree to separate themselves from their families for 4 1/2 months just so people can have something entertaining to watch on TV?
Because it appears unlikely the Arizona plan will pass muster from the only ones who really matter — the players — it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
Here’s a proposal that at least wouldn’t separate players from their families for long stretches while cutting down on travel and allowing teams to play in their own ballparks — albeit empty ones.
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1. Divide the 30 teams geographically into 4 divisions, throwing out the American and National league designations.
Creating four perfect geographical divisions would be next to impossible because of the three outliers from the Southeast region — the Braves, Rays and Marlins. While nothing is perfect, this plan would consist of two eight-team regions — the Northeast and Midwest — and two seven-team regions — the West and South.
Here’s how the divisions would be divided:
Northeast: Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Pirates, Blue Jays, Phillies, Nationals, Orioles.
Midwest: White Sox, Cubs, Brewers, Cardinals, Tigers, Indians, Reds, Twins.
West: Dodgers, Angels, Padres, Giants, Athletics, Mariners, Diamondbacks.
South: Astros, Rangers, Rockies, Royals, Rays, Marlins, Braves.
The South would involve more intradivision travel than the others, and some would complain the Northeast Division is unfairly stacked. So be it. It’s only for one shortened season.
The 2020 season would consist of 112 games from mid-June through September.
There would be eight games scheduled per week for every team. Mondays would be an off day for everyone. Teams would play doubleheaders every Tuesday and Saturday. There would be no All-Star Game.
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2. Every homestand would consist of an 8-game series against the same opponent.
In order to limit travel, road teams would travel to the opposing cities on Mondays and remain sequestered in the same hotel all week, leaving after Sunday’s games. Home teams would get to stay in their homes. Testing would be done regularly to ensure everyone’s safety. No trip would be longer than one week.
Teams in the Northeast and Midwest divisions would play home and road series against each of the other seven teams in their division. Because the West and South divisions consist of only seven teams, each one would have a crossover opponent to play a home and road series against in addition to playing home and road series against the other six teams in their division.
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3. Only players in the game would be allowed in dugouts to allow for social distancing, along with the manager, bench coach and two base coaches.
Bench players would remain in the clubhouse until needed. Anyone coming out of a game would go straight to the clubhouse. Pitching coaches would sit in the bullpen and communicate to the dugout via phone with the bench coach or manager. Only three relievers and two bullpen catchers would be allowed in the bullpen at any time.
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4. Playoffs would consist of the 4 division champions and 4 wild-card teams.
The teams with the top-four winning percentages outside of the division champions would earn wild cards. The eight teams would be seeded by winning percentage and play best-of-five series in the quarterfinal round. The semifinals and championship series would be best-of-seven.
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5. The 2020 MLB Championship Series would not be designated as the World Series.
Because we all hope this season is an aberration, the 2020 champion would be listed along with the World Series winners — but with an asterisk. If the world returns to semi-normal in 2021, baseball would then return to its current structure and the World Series would return.
Is there a better plan? Maybe. Let’s hear one, Mr. Commissioner.
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