There is no doubt in anybody's mind that this year is a crazy year for all sports. Baseball has changed drastically. There have been many rule changes going into the 2020 season that will effect the teams franchise for the rest of ever. The Orioles could come out of the gate hot and win the division and maybe somehow they could win the world series. This is only possible because there will be a 60 game season. The season will start on July 23 or 24 and players have to report for spring training on July 1.
Rules have been important in every sport, especially in baseball. Going into the 2020 season there will be some new rules. Here is a list of the new rules implemented into the new season.
1. Teams will only play teams in there own region. (East, Central, West) The teams in the east are the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Orioles, Nationals, Phillies, Pirates, Blue Jays, Rays, and Marlins. The teams in the Central are the Cubs, White Sox, Brewers, Cardinals, Royals, Reds, Indians, Twins, Braves, Tigers. The teams in the west will be the Dodgers, Angels, Giants, astros, Rangers, Mariners, DiamondBacks, A's, Rockies, and Padres. This will make it so that teams won't have to travel far for there game with the risk of getting sick.
2. There will be a universal DH. Now every National League team will use a DH, and the pitcher will no longer have to hit. (This may not be a rule after the 2020 season.)
3. Every Team will begin extra innings with a runner on second. This will make the game finish faster. I would assume that the runner on second would be the batter that made the last out of the last inning.
4. Games that get rained out before the 5th inning will no longer be rain outs. The game will resume on a different day. The "suspended" game will be resumed.
5. Rosters will start with 30 players for the first two weeks, then drop down to 28 players for the next two weeks and then the rest of the season will be played with 26 players.
6. The Trade Deadline will be August 31, not July 31. The active roster deadline for playoff eligibility is going to be September 15.
7. Players will be payed a prorated salary for the amount of games they play in 2020. They will be payed approximately 37% of what there salary would have been for a full season.
8. No more Bat or Ball Boy/Girls. Team staff will take those jobs.
9. Pitchers have to bring there own rosin bag to the mound with them. They won't be able to share the same one.
10. Players can't spit anymore. No more spitting on the field. No sunflower seeds or chewing tobacco. Chewing gum will be allowed.
11. No more team celebrations that involve coming in contact of each other. No high fives, fist bumps, or anything else that touches another player.
Those are the new rules going into the 2020 season. I am super excited that baseball is coming back. This is also really good for the game because it will most likely be one of the first sports back, so any sports fan will be excited to see live sports, not recorded for a few years ago.