The MLB has been experimenting with ideas to get baseball up and going in May, and this is huge for sports. If the MLB is able to start up their season it means that the NBA and NHL can startup as well. Sports fans are hoping for a breakthrough, and honestly, this could be seen if this proposal goes through. There’s one major controversy though, a realignment of divisions for this season is part of the plan to limit travel. With an unprecedented crisis causing proposed unprecedented change, how would it affect the Bronx Bombers?
Helps Acquire the Top Seed
The New York Yankees have always wanted to have a shot to clinch the #1 seed, as the last time they did this, they won the World Series in 2009. This is very easy now, as they could be playing the Tigers, Pirates, and Blue Jays a whopping 54 times. If they win 75% of those games that’s already 40-41 wins. The only team that wasn’t sub-.500 in these proposed divisions was the Phillies, at 81-81. The Yankees could get 60+ of their wins off of divisional games, note that they won 54 games in their division in 2019 when the competition was much better. This could help lock up a very important #1 seed in 2020, even if it feels cheap.
League Rivals Are Much Stronger Divisions
The Yankees are in the Grapefruit League, and the other two divisions are stacked now. The other two divisions host only 2 teams in total that were sub-.500 in 2019, one in each division. One division (the East) has the pennant winners in the same division. This means their rivals for that top seed are going to have to brawl for the 4 playoff spots available. This is all while the Yankees only face the cakewalk division in front of them, and if the Phillies are our closest approximation to “opposition”, then things are looking so good for the Yanks.
Should These Divisions Even Go Into Place?
Well from a safety perspective, yes, of course, they should. Obviously these divisions aren’t perfect but for health reasons, these divisions are best the way they are, with some minor changes at most. From a baseball perspective, it’s not great but again I do believe they will alter these divisions, but not by much.
Yes I know it’s completely unfair to teams who are in impossible divisions, but at the same time, I can’t make these decisions. It will be a weird year for baseball, and sports in general, but if you want baseball back soon, this is the MLB’s best bet.