Major League Baseball is discussing a plan to start the 2020 MLB season in June, according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports.
Nightengale notes that MLB officials are “cautiously optimistic” about the proposal and that it would consist of at least 100 regular-season games played in the teams’ home stadiums.
However, there would be no fans in attendance.
The kicker is that the league is considering a layout of three divisions consisting of 10 teams apiece. The clubs will only play teams within their own divisions, which would be realigned based on geography.
This would obviously mean that the traditional American League/National League format would be abolished, at least for this season.
Nightengale says that the concept is “gaining support among owners and executives.” Of course, the plan is pending the approval of medical experts and COVID-19 testing being available to the public.
The realignment structure would potentially feature the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets all playing in the same division, which would certainly make for some interesting theater.
Because the current divisional setup is largely based on geography anyway, there wouldn’t be significant changes in terms of rivalries, which is definitely a good thing.
The 2020 MLB campaign was initially slated to begin late last month, but it was put on hold due to the coronavirus.
Baseball is far from the only sport that has been affected by the pandemic, as both the NBA and the NHL had to indefinitely suspend their respective seasons. In addition, the NCAA cancelled March Madness.
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