In another amendment to a season filled with radical changes, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association agreed on Thursday that both games of a doubleheader will be seven-innings in length. The new rule becomes effective on August 1, 2020 and is mandated for play this year only. The announcement of the rule change was made on Friday.
The 2020 season has been reshaped by the ongoing pandemic with policies and protocols not seen until this year. A universal DH was adopted as well as a runner on second to start each half-inning in extras. In doubleheaders, the free runner will be stationed on second if a game is tied and heads to the eighth.
Currently, there are no doubleheaders currently scheduled in the majors, although the Chicago Cubs and the Reds will try to figure out a way to make up Thursday night’s rain-out in Cincinnati. It seems certain that with players testing positive almost on a daily basis, and the plethora of canceled games already, doubleheaders will become somewhat commonplace as the 60-game season progresses. Further, it is very likely that weather-created doubleheaders will also be required.
The shortened games will help reserve a team’s pitching resources especially when rosters will be trimmed later in the season (although an additional player will be permitted in the case of twin bills).
Seven-inning games in doubleheaders are fairly common in the minor leagues and college. Its foray into the majors, however, was met with swift reaction.
“I like nine and nine, personally,” New York Yankees reliever Adam Ottavino told the Associated Press on Wednesday. “I don’t want to be marginalized out of the game, Once we go seven-inning games, slippery slope there.”
Said Los Angeles Angels manager Joe Maddon: “If the doubleheaders were to pile up for whatever reason, I would have it like in a contingency plan. You just accelerate what you’re doing, just like we’re doing with the season. So I get it from the perspective of expediency, if it’s necessary. … I’m in for anything right now. I’m not going to speak badly of any kind of suggestion right now that people believe is going to help us get through the season, get through the playoffs and conclude them.”
Stay tuned. More rule changes are likely coming in this increasingly unique and crazy baseball season.
