The 2020 Major League Baseball season is on indefinite hiatus because of the threat that is the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Spring training was shut down in March and Opening Day has been pushed back indefinitely. When will baseball return? No one knows for sure, though MLB hopes it will be mid July.
Between now and Opening Day my fellow CBS Sports MLB scribes and I will bring you a weekly roundtable breaking down, well, pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we debated Ronald Acuna Jr. and Juan Soto. This week we'll discuss the length of the 2020 season.
How many games do you expect MLB to play in 2020?
Katherine Acquavella: I think MLB and MLBPA will set on something in the 60-70 game range, maybe 65 games. With each day bringing new proposals, it does make me think that this number could easily be chipped down to something even smaller. At this point, the two sides really only have about two more weeks left before they're forced to drastically cut the number of games. The league's recent 76-game proposal (with regular season finished by end of September) could only really work if the season started during the first week of July, and considering we're practically in mid-June and no plans have been set in place for players returning for "spring training" let alone any sort of agreed upon season structure, it's definitely safe to say the 2020 season will be under 76 games. A 50-game season just seems absolutely nuts to me, but I guess it's better than no baseball at all in 2020.
R.J. Anderson: I've thought it would be 80-something for months. I now believe that estimate to be overzealous. The owners seem committed to dribbling down the clock until there's time for only 50 games. Maybe it's a negotiating ploy and they'll still settle closer to 80, but the last several years have exposed their lack of good faith in how they approach these matters.
Mike Axisa: Now that an 82-game season is out the window, I'm hoping they'll play at least 70 games. I expect them to play closer to 60 games, however. More than the 48-54 games MLB is reportedly considering but not as much as the 76 games they'll willing to play at 75 percent prorated pay. Commissioner Rob Manfred can unilaterally impose a season of any length and the MLBPA must play as long as a) it's safe, and b) at full prorated play. Sixty games seems to be the sweet spot between "this is way too short, what's the point?" and "we're losing too much money, we can't play this many games."
Dayn Perry: Now that MLB has gotten the players to shave 25 games off their last offer, I think the end product favors owners' wishes in terms of games played. I still think we get a negotiated settlement instead of Manfred's implementing a 48- or 50-game season. I'll say 70 games with expanded playoffs because I feel like talks are leaning in the direction of ownership right now.
Matt Snyder: I've long said I didn't want any fewer than 60 or it wouldn't feel like a season. I'm now resigned to the situation that is unfolding before our very eyes on a near-daily basis: The owners are just killing time until there isn't time to play more than 50 games. The players will finally accept such a deal with prorated salaries instead of cancelling the season outright. The answer is 50. I'm also ready to embrace it. Fifty is better than zero. Let's get nuts.
