MLB has proposed a 50-game schedule and giving the players prorated pay with no additional reduction. The players proposed the same, but with 114 games. Now it’s a matter of each side giving until they agree to play, say, 82 games.
That’s what the owners proposed in the first place, albeit with salary cuts after prorating that were akin to amputations.
I’m rooting for a 50-game schedule. The Pirates were 25-25 after 50 games last season. Under MLB’s proposed playoff expansion, the Pirates would have missed one of the four National League wild cards by just a game-and-a-half. BEAT ‘EM, BUCS!
But I really want a 50-game schedule because purists would immediately pronounce the season meaningless. Baseball purists = the melting wax figure-looking guardians of the game. The “no DH” crew. The “no steroid guys in the Hall of Fame” bunch.
So, I want 50 games and I want somebody to hit .400. That would make the purists keel over. “THAT DOESN’T COUNT! IT’S ONLY 50 GAMES!”
Yeah, but...it’s .400 in a season. Fifty games was the season. That guy hit .400 in a season. First time since Ted Williams in 1941. That guy’s the new Ted Williams!
The purists would wet themselves. It would be glorious.
The only thing that could make it better is if the player who hits .400 is a DH. Maybe Colin Moran.
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