Chicago Cubs: MLB, players’ union reportedly close to an agreement

MLB and the players’ union are reportedly close on an agreement for how the season will look once we get going. What will it look like for the Chicago Cubs?

As the day that was supposed to be Opening Day has arrived, and we eagerly await the return of Chicago Cubs baseball, USA Today is reporting that MLB and the players’ union are close on an agreement for how to proceed with the 2020 season once it starts. However, it’s still uncertain when that will be. Right now, it sounds as if they are aiming for an early June start date.

Though many details are still up in the air, it’s clear that both sides are committed to playing as full of a season as possible. It had previously been reported that both sides were still hoping to get 140 to 150 of the regular 162 games this year, though the USA Today report simply stated that they wish to play “at least 100 games.”

It sounds like, to make this happen, both sides are willing to extend the regular season into October – pushing the postseason into November – while they are also ready to schedule “weekly doubleheaders” to make up for some lost time. Both of these measures would likely be necessary to get close to a full season in as possible. It would be tough – see the Bleacher Nation article cited above on a possible math scenario – but if the season can get going by June, it’s still possible.

Personally, I like both of these ideas, though they come with challenges. I wondered whether the players’ union would be willing to support doubleheaders in these extenuating circumstances; on the one hand, it can be tiring for the players, but on the other hand, it will give them more games to drive up their statistics and player value. And of course, the owners would like it because it would mean more revenue.

Chicago Cubs: More issues to consider

Many fans like doubleheaders – rare as they are these days – so this would be good for the league. However, I hope the league doesn’t shorten these games to seven innings, as some people have discussed, as it would fundamentally change the game. Expanding the rosters, which has also been considered, could help with player fatigue.

One detail I haven’t seen discussed anywhere is whether these would be day-night doubleheaders or double admission doubleheaders. As a fan, I’d love to see the second admission ones, just like old days, but given how the league is already losing tons of revenue, the guess here is that they will be day-night ones.

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I’m not sure how I feel about the season going through November. I’d like it because it would mean more baseball to follow, yet it would shorten the offseason and mess with routines, which could impact the 2021 season as well. And as the season goes deeper into the fall, MLB would also be competing more with pro and college football for fans’ attention.

Then there’s the cold weather situation. Should a team like the Cubs make a deep playoff run (which we’re all hoping for), the games would almost have to be moved to a neutral site further south, as the threat of winter weather in late November is too significant. Watching the Cubs play in the World Series in, say, Marlins Park, great as it would be, just wouldn’t be the same.

Precisely what the schedule would look like still is to be determined. It would be nice if all the teams within each division could still play a similar schedule like they usually do, but that would involve drawing up a whole new schedule, with lots of logistics involved.

It seems more likely that the league will simply pick up the schedule where they left off, perhaps adding some more games via doubleheaders. It’s not ideal, but it might be the best we can hope for.