Summer, sun, hotdogs, Dip N’ Dots, and people yelling out “PEANUTS GETYA PEANUTS HERE!” All of these are the true feelings and phrases associated with America’s past time better known as baseball.
This season was shaping up to be an interesting one. With the news of the Houston Astros allegedly cheating their way to a World Series ring, this season was going to be filled with players getting hit by pitches, metal detectors for every plate appearance, and zero trashcans in the state of Texas.
But COVID-19 has delayed the game we all love. With a tentative start date on the horizon for this summer, the MLB has started to talk about how this season might look. Will it be shorter? How long will each series be? Should each team be in their same division? These are all questions that we need answered before this season can start.
The MLB has started to tinker with the idea of changing the format for divisions and conferences in baseball. For starters, this new proposition would have every team playing in Arizona and Florida at the Spring Training facilities.
Instead of the famed American League and National League, the MLB proposed having the Grapefruit League and the Cactus League. Each league features three divisions with teams from both the AL and NL in each.
The potential divisions are as follows:
Grapefruit League
• North – New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates
• South – Boston Red Sox. Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles
• East – Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins
Cactus League
• Northeast – Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics
• West – Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels
• Northwest – Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals
I am unsure how I feel about this new realignment structure. On one hand, I don’t like the idea of splitting up rivalry’s that have been around for decades and rivalry’s that were just starting to really heat up. Taking the Cardinals and the Cubs out of the same division, same with the Red Sox and Yankees or the Dodgers and Giants. Seeing these teams play against each other several times a year adds excitement and that deeper sense of appreciation for either of the teams.
On the other hand, seeing new matchups and seeing teams that normally don’t play against each other often compete will be spectacular. Watching the young White Sox matchup against the Dodgers pitching, the Yankees lineup against the Pirates, and so many more matchup’s that we rarely get to see.
Although there is no baseball currently being played and the world desperately needs sports, it’s a breath of fresh air to hear updates about the MLB.
