Tampa Bay Rays Editorial: Even a 50-Game Season is Worth Playing

Tampa Bay Rays Editorial: Some are questioning whether a 50-game season is even worth playing. I say it is absolutely worth it.

Tampa Bay Rays Update: The players pitched a pretty good plan that demanded full salaries on a per-game basis but allowed concessions in the event the postseason is canceled due to a second outbreak.

The players also asked for a 114-game schedule. The owners have responded by lowering their initial plan of 82 games down to 50-60.

I believe we’ll land right in the middle of 50-114 games, which is 82 games.

With the notion that they only play 50-games, some people are questioning if it’s even worth it. There would be too much randomness, one hot streak can propel a lesser team to the postseason.

Someone could hit .400, forever rocking the record books!

These are just a few of the complaints I’ve seen slapped around the internet.

I vehemently disagree with all of those complaints. Give me baseball! Do you really want to wait until 2021 just because someone might hit .400?

Tampa Bay Rays Editorial: A potentially awesome shortened season

Keep in mind, I don’t believe for one second that we will have a 50-game season. It’s going to be 82 games.

But if I’m wrong, which would be the first time (sarcasm), I’ll take 50. Will I be appalled if D.J. LeMehieu hits .405 in a 50-game season? WHY WOULD I?

It’s an incredible feat that will forever be a great story from this memorable rotation around the sun.

Yes, stats will be skewed, but I think that’s a given. Wacky things will happen in a 50-game season. Sure, it may not give us the two best teams in the World Series, but let’s be honest, our current system doesn’t do that either.

Yes, this season will always have an asterisk next to it. Those of use that were around to watch it will probably remember that asterisk as a season of pure excitement. We know that every game means something over the course of 162 games, but with only 50-82 games being played it will give it a “down the stretch” feel from the get-go. Such is our situation. This is making chicken-salad out of chicken…strips.

What is better than baseball when every pitch carries the weight of the world? Playoff baseball, where the crowd sends a jolt of electricity through your veins after every stinkin’ pitch? It’s a part of what makes the NFL so exciting, each game comprises such a significant portion of their schedule.

That’s not what baseball is about, but it could be for this season. It would be like an entire season of playoff baseball, expanded and enhanced by the 14-team postseason. Sure, it’s not traditional.

No, we don’t want this in normal seasons. Yes, this sounds awesome in 2020.

As long as we get Major League Baseball, I’m not complaining. Whether it’s 50 games, 114 games, 82 games, or just one giant tournament, as Fangraphs suggested.

Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not advocating for playing in unsafe conditions or anything of that nature, but if money is the only obstacle and that is resolved, I want to see some baseball… so do you.

Also, this is probably a waste of time because I’m betting on 82 games. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!