Jarrett Seidler – Baseball Prospectus ($): I understand why the Major League Baseball Players’ Association made the concessions they did with the upcoming amateur drafts. They wanted their service time and they got just that. In doing so they mortgaged the future of the sport. Such shortsighted thinking will only continue to harm the game and the players. Solidarity is more than just a catchy slogan, MLBPA needs to learn that.
Manny Gómez – Call to the Pen: We all have our own ways of falling in love with the game of baseball. For most that involved playing the game in some way. Though, the game isn’t often the same as what we see on our televisions and computer screens. I didn’t grow up playing Vitilla, the Dominican way of playing the game you love without a bat, ball, or sometimes even a field. I grew up playing on a half basketball court with a bat and a tennis ball where the giant fence that ended the court meant a home run and the end of the game. No matter the form, we all grew to love the game from playing it the only way we could. That’s why the game of baseball is so dear to so many of us.
Jay Jaffe – FanGraphs: I’m not sure the form that the MLB season will take if it does take place in 2020. One thing I know for certain is that the 100 game plan being floated around by some sounds like the most boring way possible to bring the league back. This is the league’s chance to try something different in a one-off fashion. I know there are many traditionalists out there, I’m usually one of them, but this is a unique opportunity to do something different and if they get that chance I hope MLB goes down a not often trod path.
Lead photo courtesy of Alejandro González – Red Bull
