There is no guarantee that Major League Baseball will be able to return this season, especially at a capacity that would produce a worthy 2020 World Series Champion.
With each passing month that the season is put on hold, the harder it becomes to squeeze a full schedule worth of games, as well as the playoffs, into this year. Especially since the last thing that the MLB would want to do is have this impact their 2021 season. With all that being said, people are beginning to think of outside of the box ways to get at least some baseball in this year.
Ron Darling has been very clear that he does not want to see the season begin hastily, expressing his lack of optimism regarding the season’s return just last week. However he does have an alternative in mind that could be a lot of fun for baseball players and fans alike.
In a piece he wrote for SNY today, Darling is proposing that the MLB plays a March Madness style tournament in lieu of a season. Darling has already titled this tournament “Ballin in the Fall”.
The idea would be for teams to be put into a bracket, where they would play rounds of best-of-three series’ until a final round, which would be a best of seven. Teams would be put into the tournament unseeded, with everyone having the same chance to take home the “Ballin in the Fall” championship trophy, or whatever they would call it.
Now one hiccup in this structure that Darling overlooked is the fact that the MLB only has 30 teams, two short of an ideal tournament bracket. One way around this problem could be some form of a play-in game, where the two losing teams with the best run differential from the first round square off for the chance to get back into the Sweet Sixteen.
Regardless, Darling’s proposal could be a really fun way to get fans some exciting baseball, but in a way that is safe for everyone involved. Let us know what you think about this idea in the comment section below!
