SportsTalkATL Braves Poll: Let’s hope you guys are right

Back on March 31, we here at SportsTalkATL asked you guys to answer several polls regarding potential outcomes for the 2020 MLB season — you know, since no one knows whether or not there will be one. 

In total, we featured six polls, and I have to admit the results were a lot more optimistic than I thought they would be (though, the turnout was relatively small). Here are the results…

 

 

At this point, just imagining that there will eventually be Braves baseball this year feels almost like a fairy tale. However, President Donald Trump did meet with numerous major league sports commissioners on Saturday, saying he hopes to have fans back in stadiums and arenas by August and September. That means very little, given there has been no such talk by actual medical experts, but you can’t blame the President for remaining positive.

Either way, I’m not sure such a late timeline would even be possible for MLB, considering an August start would mean either a 50-60 game season or a 2020 campaign that stretches into Christmas. In the end, I just want baseball!

 

 

Almost half of you (or half of you that voted) believe the season will start in June — again, making me feel guilty for being so pessimistic.

Technically, a June start shouldn’t be out of the question. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has yet to push back the official planned start date from mid-May, suggesting there’s a possibility the league could play in empty stadiums in the event there’s a flattening-of-the-curve soon.

When MLB and the player’s union met last month, one of the main takeaways from their meeting was that both parties are extremely determined to play baseball somehow this year — fans or no fans. There’s still hope!

 

 

Again… love the optimism. I really hope this happens!

 

 

 

 

If there is an MLB season in 2020, I believe this last poll question will wind up being the most intriguing dilemma the league will face.

It’s a pretty mixed bag for you guys, but I expect a completely different postseason, or at least one that involves a larger pool of teams. There are even reputable people in the industry that, instead of a 2020 regular season, predict some kind of MLB-wide tourney involving all 30 teams. I’m not so sure the playoffs will be altered quite that much, but the league and MLBPA would need to figure out a way to make the postseason as meaningful as it usually is. A regular season that’s… say… only a third as long as usual will require a playoff structure that’s proportional in both length and competition.