MLB Recap: Pitchers Going Down, Down, Down
This past Thursday should have been Opening Day for the 2020 Major League Baseball Season, but the Coronavirus had other ideas. With the season pushed back to at least May, not a whole lot of news has come up. But, there are somethings to talk about. The first is both Chris Sale and Noah Syndergaard are heading for Tommy John surgery. MLB and the MLB Players Association have come to an agreement about the 2020 season. Lastly Major League Baseball celebrated Opening Day with “Opening Day At Home”.
Pitching Going Under The Knife
Two ace caliber pitchers have gotten the dreaded Tommy John surgery this past week. The first is Mets’ pitcher Noah Syndergaard, who had it on Thursday. Then Red Sox ace Chris Sale had his Monday 3/30. Both of them are expected back some time in 2021. This surgery is coming more and more common for pitchers these days.
It does not surprise me that Syndergaard and Sale got the surgery. Both have been dealing with arm issues over the past few seasons. Also, it will not be shocking if more pitchers go under the knife with the uncertainty of the 2020 MLB season. I believe that if the season gets pushed back any longer you could see a rise in the Tommy John surgeries. This is because pitchers will either not want to pitch in a shorten season and try to get back stronger for late 2021. Or pitchers will not be in the same shape as they normally are in a season. If you look at Syndergaard and Sale they are two completely different body types. That shows you can never really predict what pitcher will need it.
A Deal Has Been Made For The 2020 MLB Season
On Friday the MLB and MLB PA were able to sign a deal about the 2020 season. It give more clarity about what could happen. There is still no exact date set for the season, but they are willing to play in empty ball parks. Furthermore, there would be roster expansion to ensure the season can start as soon as possible. This means there could be a 2 week spring training “2.0”. More roster spots on teams could be made so if an injury happens that player can be replaced quicker. If everything were to work out as they want it they are shooting for a mid-May return to camp and an early June start. That is not looking good as of today.
If a season were not to be played players would be given the same amount of service time as they got in 2019. That means if a player is in their final year of a deal they would be come a free agent at the end of 2020 like they would have been if the season were played normally. That means a player like Mookie Betts could never play a game for the Dodgers and sign somewhere else after being traded by the Boston Red Sox.
With a shorten camp I can see more injuries happening. Players are not allowed to be at a facility right now, so many are not working out the same as they were. So their bodies are not in the shape they normally are after an offseason. Players would need more than 2 weeks to get their bodies prepared for a season.
MLB “Opening Day At Home”
Something I considered a huge win for Major League Baseball was their “Opening Day At Home”. This was run on what was supposed to be the Opening Day for the 2020 MLB Season, Thursday 3/26. This was where MLB steamed 30 games over the day on their social media platforms. As you can see in the image above, that is the schedule of all the games. There was one game for each team from 1996 until 2019. This means every fan base was able to relive a exciting game for recent memory.
The reason this was so good for Major League Baseball was because it made fans like myself forget about the coronavirus for a little while. I am working from home and was able to watch a couple of these games. The first one I watched was the Harper Walk Off Grand Slam at 9am. Remember the highlight of the Harper homer? That was cool. Also, I didn’t watch the game live. I didn’t realize how dominate Yu Darvish was that game. I was able to enjoy the game and feel like baseball was being played. Good job MLB!
Recap
Two aces, Chris Sale and Noah Syndergaard have gotten Tommy John. I feel there could be a jump in numbers of not only Tommy John but injuries as a whole if the season were to be shorten. The MLB and MLB PA reached a deal on Friday about what to do about the 2020 MLB season. The goal is early June to start the season and player would get the same service time as they did 2019. Lastly the MLB comes in with a huge W with “Opening Day At Home” on Thursday. You were able to watch 30 different games throughout the day. I would like to hear your thoughts on “Opening Day At Home”.
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-Tom “Powder” Cadmus (@powder42308)