Brandon’s World: 2020 World Series Champion Will Have Asterisk
After a three month public negotiating battle between Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced on June 24 a plan to return to play that includes a 60 game regular-season. Spring Training will start on July 1, and opening day will be either July 23 or 24.
Usually, 60 games to start an MLB season doesn’t mean much. To quote MLB Hall of Famer Tommy Lorsada, “No matter how good you are, you’re going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you’re going to win one-third of your games. It’s the other third that makes the difference.”
However, this year, MLB teams will not be able to avoid a slow start if they want to compete for a playoff spot. A sweep in a three-game series for a team on the bubble may end their season quicker than expected.
Due to the shortened season and the realignment of the schedule, I anticipate there will be plenty of surprise teams this season for different reasons.
The Dodgers, a team that many expected to come out of the National League this season, may struggle mightily in this new format. They have the talent, but they have a lot of new pieces in place, including star outfielder Mookie Betts. If they do not get off to a quick start, they could be in trouble.
Meanwhile, the Houston Astros, a team who was expected to receive backlash all season from fans and players due to the sign-stealing scandal, may benefit the most from the shortened season just because of the pure fact there will be no fans in the stands, and the anger people had for the team back in February seems to have gone away because of everything with COVID-19.
MLB is not returning like the NBA, where the majority of their regular-season games have been played, and the MLB as a whole is set up differently than the NBA in terms of the value of star-power, which the NBA relies more heavily on. In the NBA, traditionally, the top three teams in each conference are the only true title contenders. In NBA history, only two teams have won the championship from the №4 seed or below (the 1969 Boston Celtics were the №4 seed, and the 1995 Houston Rockets were the №6 seed).
Compare that number to MLB, and the numbers are vastly different. Since MLB introduced the wild-card in 1994, seven wild-card teams have won the World Series, including three straight from 2002–2004. A wild-card team made the World Series every season from 2002–2007.
Usually in baseball, it’s not about who has the best team come October. It’s about who gets hot at the right time, and who has the best pitching and timely hitting come fall. Just look at last year’s World Series Champions, the Washington Nationals. They started off the season with an abysmal record of 19–31 and ended up winning it all. In baseball, never say never!
However, this year’s season will not be a traditional season, which is why if the season concludes at the end of October with a World Series Champion as expected, the winner will have an asterisks next to their name in the history books, no matter what team holds up The Commissioner’s Trophy.
Brandon Lewis is a columnist, radio show host and podcaster. Check out his podcast, Brandon’s World, here, and follow him on Twitter @real_bworld. Columns will be out every Friday!
