MLB prepares for drastic change

It is a fact that it will be an atypical campaign, with July as the possible starting date. But beyond that, Major League Baseball would need the use of video replay to review controversial decisions in this upcoming 2020 season.

This, thanks to an agreement that seeks to pay the salary of the umpires (referees) during a campaign that will also be played very possibly in three divisions and only for this year, without the separation of the American and National League, as is tradition. 

The parties involved, league and arbitrators, reached an agreement in recent days, but it was not specified whether the measure will be executed only for this year or if it will continue in the future. Of course, although it is an open secret, Major League Baseball has not released the official bulletin.

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How will it be applied?

The signed four-page document states that the umpires are guaranteed 50% of their salary for May and what corresponds to them between January and April , but the problem is that if there were no games (today it seems unlikely) they would not receive any more money. 

An MLB umpire's salary ranges from $ 150,000 to $ 450,000 a month, so we're talking about an important portion of their wages based on games played over a 182-day season.

The Major Leagues have contemplated the possibility of playing the first round in the stadiums that play the preseason, all located in Arizona and Florida and that, in addition, do not have the facilities to connect the videos that allow the replays to be reviewed.

A six-year cycle

Since the 2014 season, most controversial decisions within a game have been subject to review, and the use of video has become an important part of the games, so much so that its arrival in baseball was celebrated by many.

On average, in a game almost half of the plays that take place are reviewed. The truth is that the new measure seems to satisfy everyone, and in that case it will be interesting to see how the players deal with it in the heat of the game and especially in a decisive part of the season.

Finally, the major league umpire union said it was "pleased" to reach this agreement with the commissioner's office.

The other change

Due to the delay of the original schedule by Covid19, Major League Baseball proposed a shorter schedule, in which 100 games would be played and not 162 as usual. In addition, there will be no National League or American League for this year, but a geographic separation by East, Center and West divisions, of 10 teams each to complete the 30 sets.

The Twitter account of @FEBeisbol specifies it very well. In the East , the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Miami Marlins would face off.

At the Center would be the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox, as well as the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves and Detroit Tigers.

Finally, in the West, the group would be Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Texas Rangers. Houston Astros, and Seattle Mariners.

Without a doubt, everything points to a very special and different season, with two important modifications that can even alter the broad favoritism that Dodgers and Yankees had in March.