Reese Kaplan -- What Baseball Fans Discuss These Days

Having a few virtual adult beverages with some friends, we were discussing the various issues of the day.  What is going on with the wearing of masks here locally?  When were offices reopening?  How long until we resume “normal” activities?  There was even a little about upcoming events.  Then the questions turned to baseball.  

While no one was completely of the belief that the season will actually resume in 2020, whether it was going to be a 60, 65 or 70 game endeavor, how would the future baseball historians treat this abbreviated schedule?  Some felt it was going to be more-or-less the same as the 1994-1995 strike period when games (including the post-season) were lost.  Others felt it would be treated like any other season.  Others felt it was just simply too weird between the expanded post-season and the inclusion of the DH in National League games.

To me, the weirdest thing will be the projected empty stands with crowds wanting to be there but concerns about the possible spread of the coronavirus.  While everyone is focusing on the date of the season’s commencement, the amount of money paid to the players, the size of the roster, the elimination of minor league stratas and impact of the short season on free agency, yet no one regularly talks about the fans. 

Many felt that fans would rush to the ballpark for that semblance of a regular life once again.  Others were on the polar end of the spectrum thinking it was too soon to risk being that close to a large crowd.  We haven’t heard uniform conversation from the owners how they’re planning to accommodate crowds, so we really don’t know what to expect.

We did hear that infections abound in the Phillies and Blue Jays Florida training facilities (with 5 Phillies players and additional non-playing personnel affected). It's going to be ugly for sure. Now MLB is shutting down all of the Florida and Arizona spring training sites for what they refer to as a "deep cleaning" ritual.

The next issue that came up was the newly introduced NL Designated Hitter.  Whether people are for it or against it, the topic is a non-starter since apparently it is part of the new structure being negotiated.  Some felt, as John hinted earlier this week, that the clubs need to rotate around the DH role, filling in some of the superior bats that come with inferior gloves in order to take advantage of what people do best.  

Of course, the DH conversation is not just about this strange, hypothetical 2020 season, but extends into 2021 as well.  Then comes the new CBA with the Major League Baseball Players Association who will have a much harder time denying the permanency of the DH role once fans are accustomed to it for more than a 200 games in total.  That will lead to a whole new debate among traditionalists vs. the experimenters who realize that the game must continue to evolve to maintain interest among a declining fan base.  

When the DH was first introduced in the AL, it was used as a way to extend the career of older players who lost a step or more in fielding their positions but were still capable of delivering the goods when at the plate.  In that mold, the natural DH for the Mets for the next few seasons would be Robinson Cano.  He is under contract for 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.  He’ll be starting next season at age 38, then he will be 39 and 40 while still earning big bucks.  His offensive output is borderline Hall of Fame caliber, so it’s not the craziest idea in the world.

Another approach bandied about was the conversion of a defensively marginal player into the full time DH role.  If you recall correctly, the Seattle Mariners took a future Hall of Famer in Edgar Martinez away from his 3B role and converted him into a regular DH for the rest of his career.  In total, he played about 3 seasons worth of games in the field with about 9 seasons worth of games as the standard bearer Designated Hitter.  Towards that end, the Mets (who feared defensive woes with Pete Alonso) might choose to take the defensively superior Dom Smith and insert him to play 1B while allowing Alonso to flourish as a hitter.  

Of course, there are other players who don’t quite fit who could serve in the DH role.  J.D. Davis is born to be a DH and certainly seems to deliver the offensive goods.  Yoenis Cespedes isn’t fully ready for the running required to play the outfield and there is nowhere on the infield for him to take the field.  Even lame duck Jed Lowrie has nowhere to play if he was physically able to do so.  Of these three, only Davis would seem to warrant conversation about his future role in the game.  Both Cespedes and Lowrie will be looking at the Mets in their respective rear view mirrors when 2020’s season (whatever it is) comes to an end.  

Anyway, while we all want to hear an umpire calling balls and strikes, the fact remains that it’s still unsettled and there are more questions than answers.  Just like Mike Piazza’s post-9/11 home run brought normalcy back to fans everywhere, people are hoping once again to have that type of routine once again become a part of their daily lives.  

Play ball.