Schedule proposal

[chaderic20]

Just for fun I thought I'd put together a proposal for a schedule for a shortened season. The scenario I went with was starting the season on July 6. I picked this date fairly arbitrarily, but it seems like a decently realistic scenario. Let me know what your proposed schedule would look like for that start date. Or pick your own scenario and try to put together a schedule. Here's mine:

 

To limit travel, teams will be reorganized into six geographically-based divisions, and to limit exposure teams will play only within their divisions. Here are the divisions:

 

New England

NYY

NYM

BOS

PHI

TOR

 

East Coast

MIA

TAM

ATL

WAS

BAL

 

Great Lakes

CIN

CLE

PIT

DET

MIL

 

Midwest

CHW

CHC

MIN

STL

KC

 

South

HOU

TEX

COL

ARI

SD

 

West Coast

LAA

LAD

SF

OAK

SEA

 

All series are six-game series, plus a travel day after each series. So each series plus travel day, takes one week. Divisions of five also mean each team will get a week off every fifth week. Each team will play a home-and-home against each other team in the division, one series at each location. This totals eight series, or 48 games. Eight series is two cycles of one series against each of the other four teams plus an off week, so it will take 10 weeks total. With a start date of July 6 the season would end on September 12.

 

Rainouts would be made up as double-headers the next day, if there is a rainout of game 6 in a series, it will be made up as a noon game on the travel day. There will be one week between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs to make up any games not made up during the season, but only if they are necessary to determine a division winner or wildcard. Then division winner ties will be broken first by head-to-head record, then by run differential in head-to-head games, then run differential in all games, and finally by a tiebreaker game. Wildcard ties will be broken by run differential in all games, then by a tiebreaker game.

 

There would then be an 8-team playoff consisting of the 6 division winners plus 2 wildcards, which would be the top two second-place teams. Division winners would be seeded by record, and then the wildcards would be the 7 and 8 seeds, by record. Seeding ties will broken by run differential in all games, then by coin flip. All rounds are best of 7 in a traditional 2-3-2 format. Round one of the playoffs runs September 21 - 30. Round two runs October 1 - 10, and the World Series runs October 11 - 20.

 

A couple issues with this proposal are that it means one team from each division will start the season a week later, and one team from each division will end the season a week sooner. Also, run differential could get skewed by weaker/stronger divisions, but I used that to avoid having to play as many extra games as possible.

[Doctor Gast]

I`m not crazy about that schedule. I`d prefer the schedule based on the original set up. I`d go w/ the original & have the inter divisional teams play double headers to make up for missed games, the rest could be redistributed as equally as possible & maybe drop the external league games

[TopGunn#22]

I REALLY like the thought you put into this chaderic20.  It's virtually impossible to make everyone happy.  What i like:  In a year like no other, you've come up with divisions based on geography---why not ??  It looks like your season plays about 96 games, yet it starts a week before the traditional All Star break.  That's pretty impressive.  But what i like the most is your playoff scenario.  A playoffs that is fairly consistent with modern tradition yet expanded and since we aren't locked into traditional American and National League metrics (which being a traditional kind of baseball guy I'm surprised I like) and it plays the World Series October 11th-20th---which is what I like the most !  MLB NEEDS to come up with a season that plays the World Series in that time frame.  Rosters could also be expanded to 28 players.  And finally, let ALL teams employ a DH...no matter where they're playing.  That would be a perfect opportunity to see how it plays for all 30 teams.  Great article, if for nothing else the conversation it could generate. (we know MLB would NEVER be this bold or think this much "outside the box."

[Mr. Brooks]

MLB is made up of two separate leagues, so this realignment is impossible without several years of advance notice.

[jud6312]

I like the thought that everyone is putting into it, but honestly I'm going to be incredibly surprised if there's any games played this year.

 

This wouldn't be a bad plan for '21 though, as I expect things to still be limited then. 

 

 

If there are games this year, it might actually be easiest just to pick it up on the date they can start. The season won't be balances, but it'll be nearly impossible to accomplish anyway, and I'd be surprised if the MLBPA would bend their own rules to fit in a ton of double-headers.

 

[Nine of twelve]

I don't think it's realistic to realign the leagues and divisions in any way. That means there needs to be at least one interleague series taking place at all points in the schedule. Here's one possibility.

12 games against each team in your division, 3 games against each other team in your league, 3 games against each of 2 opponents from the other league.

84 games in the form of 28 3-game series, 2 each week for 14 weeks. This proposal would contain 30 interleague series so that works.

The season would need to start on or before June 22 for the season to end on Sept. 27 as originally planned. If the season were 2 weeks shorter that means going to a 72-game schedule. 2 weeks shorter than that would be 60 games. At some point it's no longer feasible.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

MLB is made up of two separate leagues, so this realignment is impossible without several years of advance notice.

you could keep the inter league rules if each division is evenly split AL/NL

[chaderic20]

I had no intention of this realignment being permanent. It was solely to allow for limited travel and exposure to as few teams as possible to try to prevent/contain any outbreaks of COVID19 among teams. I have no idea if it would be realistic or not, but I'd LIKE to think that MLB and MLBPA would be willing to throw a few traditions out the window this year given the unique circumstances, including traditional AL/NL alignment. Even if it's not realistic, it's fun to consider different "what if" scenarios.

[Mr. Brooks]

you could keep the inter league rules if each division is evenly split AL/NL

How do you split divisions of 5 evenly?

[Mr. Brooks]

I had no intention of this realignment being permanent. It was solely to allow for limited travel and exposure to as few teams as possible to try to prevent/contain any outbreaks of COVID19 among teams. I have no idea if it would be realistic or not, but I'd LIKE to think that MLB and MLBPA would be willing to throw a few traditions out the window this year given the unique circumstances, including traditional AL/NL alignment. Even if it's not realistic, it's fun to consider different "what if" scenarios.

AL/NL isn't "tradition". It's literally two different leagues that have agreed to a co-op.

[chaderic20]

 

AL/NL isn't "tradition". It's literally two different leagues that have agreed to a co-op.

 

Then I guess they would have to agree to cooperate a little more for a year. Sorry I didn't research the legal particulars of my just for fun hypothetical scenario.

[Nine of twelve]

Here's another proposal. My assumption is that this has already been suggested and discussed somewhere, maybe even on this site.

All 30 teams participate in a tournament, with each elimination round being a best-of-seven series in a 2-3-2 format as is typically done. One team from each league would be chosen at random to receive a first-round bye. Five rounds would be required. With one travel day between home stands and between rounds that works out to 10 days per round, requiring 45-49 days to determine a winner.  Starting the day after Labor Day results in a finish between Oct. 22 and Oct. 26.

One way to create the pairings would be to use existing divisions as a guideline. Arrange the teams in approximate order from east to west by divisions, eliminate the bye team, and adjacent teams play each other, with the bracket continuing with eastern teams in each league in one half and western teams in the other. For example, in the AL you would put the teams in the following order: TB, Bal, NYY, Bos, Tor, Cle, Det, Chi, Min, KC, Tex, Hou, LAA, Oak, Sea. Similarly, in the NL it would be Fla, Atl, Was, Phi, NYM, Pit, Cin, ChC, Mil, StL, Col, Ari, SD, LAD and SF. Under this setup, if the Twins are not the bye team we would play Det, Chi, KC, or Tex in the first round. For the second round the team receiving the bye would be inserted in the bracket between the winners of the series between adjacent pairs of teams. The team opening at home would be chosen randomly before each round.

It's not a real season, and I don't know whether it would be legitimate to call the final round the World Series, but at least there would be some baseball.

[The Wise One]

 

Here's another proposal. My assumption is that this has already been suggested and discussed somewhere, maybe even on this site.

All 30 teams participate in a tournament, with each elimination round being a best-of-seven series in a 2-3-2 format as is typically done. One team from each league would be chosen at random to receive a first-round bye. Five rounds would be required. With one travel day between home stands and between rounds that works out to 10 days per round, requiring 45-49 days to determine a winner.  Starting the day after Labor Day results in a finish between Oct. 22 and Oct. 26.

One way to create the pairings would be to use existing divisions as a guideline. Arrange the teams in approximate order from east to west by divisions, eliminate the bye team, and adjacent teams play each other, with the bracket continuing with eastern teams in each league in one half and western teams in the other. For example, in the AL you would put the teams in the following order: TB, Bal, NYY, Bos, Tor, Cle, Det, Chi, Min, KC, Tex, Hou, LAA, Oak, Sea. Similarly, in the NL it would be Fla, Atl, Was, Phi, NYM, Pit, Cin, ChC, Mil, StL, Col, Ari, SD, LAD and SF. Under this setup, if the Twins are not the bye team we would play Det, Chi, KC, or Tex in the first round. For the second round the team receiving the bye would be inserted in the bracket between the winners of the series between adjacent pairs of teams. The team opening at home would be chosen randomly before each round.

It's not a real season, and I don't know whether it would be legitimate to call the final round the World Series, but at least there would be some baseball.

The leagues would be divided one half as east and one half as west In 15 team leagues that leaves a team as half a team. In the order listed for the AL that idea is actually close to accurate as Detroit is close to being the middle team, Detroit is a team that could be called a half team

[twinfan]

I would have the teams resume spring training on April 23rd, start the season on May 1, play in front of either no fans or fans separated by 10 seats each (except for parents and their kids) until safer and play a 148 game schedule then playoffs and WS. Move the trade deadline back to Aug 15, the All Star Game to August 15 as well and the roster expansion to stay the same.

[gil4]

 

AL/NL isn't "tradition". It's literally two different leagues that have agreed to a co-op.

How much of that is even true anymore? We have had teams switch leagues. They no longer maintain their own umpiring crews. The game ball is now stamped with the commissioner's signature on it; the ball I caught in the mid-80's had AL president Lee MacPhail's stamp.  Other than the DH, what is the difference? There isn't even an AL president now, and Frank Robinson was just an honorary one, as was Jackie Autrie before him. The last functioning AL president was Gene Budig ('94-'99).

[Nine of twelve]

 

I would have the teams resume spring training on April 23rd, start the season on May 1, play in front of either no fans or fans separated by 10 seats each (except for parents and their kids) until safer and play a 148 game schedule then playoffs and WS. Move the trade deadline back to Aug 15, the All Star Game to August 15 as well and the roster expansion to stay the same.

It's way too soon to attempt to set a date. How our current worldwide predicament will progress is not predictable. We have to wait until epidemiologists and other scientists give the go-ahead to resume the activities that would be needed to get baseball back underway. My guess, and it's just a guess, is that it will be way past April 23 before baseball resumes.

[Craig Arko]

 

It's way too soon to attempt to set a date. How our current worldwide predicament will progress is not predictable. We have to wait until epidemiologists and other scientists give the go-ahead to resume the activities that would be needed to get baseball back underway. My guess, and it's just a guess, is that it will be way past April 23 before baseball resumes.

April 23rd, 2021, maybe.

[Nine of twelve]

 

Here's another proposal. My assumption is that this has already been suggested and discussed somewhere, maybe even on this site.

All 30 teams participate in a tournament, with each elimination round being a best-of-seven series in a 2-3-2 format as is typically done. One team from each league would be chosen at random to receive a first-round bye. The team opening at home in each first-round series would be chosen at random.

Five rounds would be required. With one travel day between home stands and between rounds that works out to 10 days per round, requiring 45-49 days to determine a winner. Starting the day after Labor Day results in a finish between Oct. 22 and Oct. 26.

One way to create the pairings would be to use existing divisions as a guideline. Arrange the teams in approximate order from east to west by divisions, eliminate the bye team, and adjacent teams play each other. In the AL the teams would be placed in the following order: TB, Bal, NYY, Bos, Tor, Cle, Det, CWS, Min, KC, Tex, Hou, LAA, Oak, Sea. Similarly, in the NL the order would be Fla, Atl, Was, Phi, NYM, Pit, Cin, ChC, Mil, StL, Col, Ari, SD, LAD, SF.

As an example, the Twins' opponent in the first round would be CWS if one of the first seven teams receives the bye, KC if one of the last five teams receives the bye, Det if CWS receives the bye, and Tex if KC receives the bye. If the Twins receive the bye we would play either KC or Tex in the second round.

For the second round the team receiving the first-round bye would be inserted into the bracket in its geographical position and open on the road. In each other series the team opening at home in the second and subsequent rounds would depend on where those teams opened the previous series. If one team opened at home in the previous series and the other opened on the road, the team that opened on the road would open at home. Otherwise the team opening at home would be chosen at random.

It's not a real season, and I don't know whether it would be legitimate to call the final round the World Series, but at least there would be some baseball.

As most of us are aware, posts can not be edited past a certain point in time after they are posted. To get around this, as bgb did in another thread, we are forced to quote ourselves and edit the quote.

I have attempted here to clarify and slightly expand on my previous post.

[Mr. Brooks]

How much of that is even true anymore? We have had teams switch leagues. They no longer maintain their own umpiring crews. The game ball is now stamped with the commissioner's signature on it; the ball I caught in the mid-80's had AL president Lee MacPhail's stamp. Other than the DH, what is the difference? There isn't even an AL president now, and Frank Robinson was just an honorary one, as was Jackie Autrie before him. The last functioning AL president was Gene Budig ('94-'99).

Not sure. But, when Houston switched leagues, they were given several years of notice, not several weeks.

 

It just doesn't make sense to realign between leagues, just to fit a tighter geographical area (which would still be traveled by air either way), when the same proposal will work without comingling leagues, just a little more travel.

[gil4]

 

Not sure. But, when Houston switched leagues, they were given several years of notice, not several weeks.

It just doesn't make sense to realign between leagues, just to fit a tighter geographical area (which would still be traveled by air either way), when the same proposal will work without comingling leagues, just a little more travel.

That's true, and it took a lot of negotiating to get there. Also, while the AL and NL are really not separate entities anymore, tradition is still important in baseball.