I just want people to be safe, healthy, and consider others during this time of the covid-19 pandemic. Social distancing is not that hard, we just have to be aware of our surroundings. With that being said, I miss sports. And this time of year I miss my baseball.
So this past weekend as I was having some quality family time as we were sheltered in place at home, I read a story from USAToday in which I am not custom to reading USAToday. But this story caught my attention. If MLB were to be played this year at a later date, a proposal was thrown out there for all 30 teams to play the Cactus League and Grapefruit League schedule. For all the non baseball fans, during baseball's spring training, teams west of the Mississippi River play in Arizona known as the Cactus League. The teams east of the Mississippi River (most teams except Houston Astros), play in the Grapefruit League in Florida. All the teams spring training facilities are in these two states, and teams would feel comfortable playing at their home facilities. There are three home stadiums in these states. The Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix, and Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa/St. Petersburg and Miami Marlins in Miami. So if this proposal was passed, there would be no American League and no National League play. My indication there would be no fans, but there would be baseball. The teams would realign like this:
Cactus League
NORTHEAST: Chicago Cubs (NL), San Francisco Giants (NL), Arizona Diamondbacks (NL), Colorado Rockies (NL), Oakland Athletics (AL)
WEST: Los Angeles Dodgers (NL), Chicago White Sox (AL), Cincinnati Reds (NL), Cleveland Indians (AL), Los Angeles Angels (AL)
NORTHWEST: Milwaukee Brewers (NL), San Diego Padres (NL), Seattle Mariners (AL), Texas Rangers (AL), Kansas City Royals (AL)
Grapefruit League
NORTH: New York Yankees (AL), Philadelphia Phillies (NL), Toronto Blue Jays (AL), Detroit Tigers (AL), Pittsburg Pirates (NL)
SOUTH: Boston Red Sox (AL), Minnesota Twins (AL), Atlanta Braves (NL), Tampa Bay Rays (AL), Baltimore Orioles (AL)
EAST: Washington Nationals (NL), Houston Astros (AL), New York Mets (NL), St. Louis Cardinals (NL), Miami Marlins (NL)
A new schedule of games would need to be created with the new temporary divisional opponents. The designated hitter which the American League uses would be universal for this year. Me being an Atlanta Braves fan, I'm a National League guy that likes seeing the pitcher hit, more strategy to the game this way. And at the end of this season, there would still be a playoff for both leagues and a World Series Championship. It would be the winner of the Cactus League vs the winner of the Grapefruit League. So if you think about it, the World Series could be played with two NL teams or two AL teams.
My take, I like this proposal if this is what MLB is wanting to do. I would like to see teams play in their home ballparks with or without fans, but travel at this time might not be the best for the players, staff, and personnel. Let's do this MLB!!! We need our sports back!!!
Follow me on Twitter @makirkley for up-to-date tweets, and my views on what's going on in the world of sports.
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