How MLB's Old Schedule Makers Would Set Up Yankees Schedule in 2020

MLB's latest proposal for the 2020 regular season covers all bases.

Rule changes, including a universal designated hitter, realigned divisions and an expanded postseason, are key components in bringing baseball back amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Within this 82-game proposed season, however, how would the schedule look?

In her latest piece, Sports Illustrated's Emma Baccellieri caught up with Henry and Holly Stephenson – the husband-and-wife team that created the schedule for every MLB season from 1982 to 2004.

Before MLB replaced the dynamic duo with a computing firm, the couple was responsible for laying out a complete 162-game schedule for all 30 big-league clubs while accounting for events, weather, holidays, adequate days off and so much more. Now, even though the couple hasn't played around with a schedule in at least a decade, Baccellieri asked how they would create a fair schedule for all teams in this unique situation.

This process isn't as easy as remembering how to ride a bike, but with some extra free time at home, here's what Henry and Holly came up with.

Check out this excerpt from Baccellieri's piece (which you can read in full here):

The Stephensons broke down a potential 82-game schedule like this: Each team would play four three-game series against its four divisional opponents, two at home, two on the road. That would account for 48 games across 16 series. The team would also play two three-game series against each of the five clubs in the corresponding division in the opposite league, one home and one away, for 10 more series, or 30 more games. That lands on a uniform system for 78 games, with four left per team to be sprinkled in as four-game series instead of three. And there you have it—a “fairly clear, fairly simple, and relatively fair way of putting together a schedule,” says Henry.

So, what would that look like for the New York Yankees? Let's break it down.

Yankees 2020 schedule (as proposed by Henry and Holly Stephenson)

AL East teams

Baltimore Orioles – 12 G

Boston Red Sox – 12 G

Tampa Bay Rays – 12 G

Toronto Blue Jays – 12 G

Total of 48 games split equally at Yankee Stadium and on the road

NL East teams

Atlanta Braves – 6 G

Miami Marlins – 6 G

New York Mets – 6 G

Philadelphia Phillies – 6 G

Washington Nationals – 6 G

Total of 30 games split equally at Yankee Stadium and on the road

Using Sports Illustrated's predictions for the 2020 season, from earlier this spring, New York has its hands full. Six of the nine teams in this realigned eastern division were projected to be at or above .500 in a full season this year.

That means, with Tampa Bay and Boston in the American League accounting for 24 games and all but the Marlins in the National League accumulating to another 24 contests, the Bombers will play 48 of the 78 scheduled games in this format against .500 ball clubs.

READ: Predicting New York's 30-man roster for MLB's latest proposal

If there's any team that can still take care of business, it's New York. The extra time off during MLB's hiatus has afforded players like Aaron Hicks, James Paxton and Giancarlo Stanton to recover from injuries and surgeries. Meanwhile, Aaron Judge has taken full advantage of the ongoing postponement, continuing to heal his fractured right rib. All four of those key contributors, who otherwise wouldn't have been ready for Opening Day in late-March, are now in play to suit up when the season potentially begins in July.

Exactly half of New York's games will be played in the Bronx, a favorable home field advantage. Then again, with no fans in the stands, how much of an added advantage is it (beyond the ability to get last licks in the bottom of the ninth)?

Should this proposal come to fruition, the schedule will put together by computers. That's how it has been for over a decade now. The Stephensons told Baccellieri, however, that no matter how simple the process may be, there's "always more going on under the surface."

The same can be said about New York's World Series aspirations. The Bombers have the roster to make a run, and will be far more healthy as a unit for Opening Day than originally expected, but unprecedented circumstances and a tough schedule make this far from a walk in the park.

READ: Baccellieri on how MLB's old schedule makers would set up the 2020 season

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For more from Max Goodman, follow him on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. Follow ITP on Twitter @SI_Yankees and Facebook @SIYankees