MLB sends proposal to players association

Major League Baseball owners have approved a plan that will be sent to the MLB Players Association to start the baseball season in early July.

There are plenty of items to work out, and it’s very unlikely the MLBPA will simply rubber-stamp what the owners propose. Issues about money will likely cause this to be a negotiation that could cause delays.

Let’s not make this difficult. This should be the plan. Have a timeline and meet the deadlines.

June 1 – 12:00 pm ET – Set this as the deadline for the owners and the players to iron out any differences and to come to an agreement on the baseball season to start.

June 13 – Spring Training starts at home ballparks for teams. Those teams that are in states still dealing with higher virus numbers may have to go to Florida or Arizona for a three-week training to prepare for the season. Three weeks would be enough time for players to get at bats in, pitchers to get innings in and for scrimmages to prepare for the season.

July 4 – The NEW Opening Day in baseball. Imagine what that would be like – having the start of the 2020 baseball season on Independence Day. It will be a Saturday. People will hopefully be able to take a breath and relax. Just imagine if baseball is all over the television and it’s the first day of a new season. Ratings would reach all-time highs for regular season games.

Plus, having America’s pastime return on America’s birthday would be special. Years from now, we could say, “Remember that time the season started on July 4?” It would be a great thing for this nation to have baseball back on such a special and beloved holiday.

Let’s hope something like this can happen.

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