Toronto Blue Jays looking at a level playing field for the MLB postseason
By Paul Taylor
MLB has confirmed their plans for the 2020 postseason and the situation looks positive for the Toronto Blue Jays, pending their qualification and if they advance past the wild card round.
Major League Baseball has confirmed their plans for the 2020 postseason. And while it depends on certain things happening, the announcement provisionally seems positive for the Toronto Blue Jays.
As reported by Katherine Acquavella of CBS Sports, the league’s plan has been approved by the MLB Players Association. Similar to what the NBA and NHL have done, MLB will hold the majority of the postseason in a bubble environment, which should help protect against a serious outbreak of COVID-19.
Essentially, what this means is the Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series will all be held at neutral sites. As per Acquavella, the ballparks which will be used are as follows:
- NLDS – Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas and Minute Maid Park in Houston
- ALDS – Petco Park in San Diego and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles
- NLCS – Globe Life Field
- ALCS – Petco Park
- World Series – Globe Life Field
This is good news for the Blue Jays, who have had to play their home games outside Canada. MLB’s postseason setup at least gives them a chance at a fairer playing field.
The only exception to this postseason plan will be the Wild Card round. For these series, the higher side will host all games at their ballpark.
Of course, first things first, the Blue Jays have to actually qualify for the postseason. However, even allowing for how much the typical Toronto pro sports fan worries about things going wrong, the ball club finds themselves in a strong position.
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Heading into their crucial series with the New York Yankees, the Blue Jays have a 26-20 record with 14 regular season games remaining. Most importantly, they are five games ahead of the Seattle Mariners, who sit outside an AL postseason spot in ninth place.
Some fans will just be happy the Blue Jays are in with a genuine chance at the postseason, given they were not meant to contend this year. Factor in the injuries to key players and no home games in Toronto, it has certainly been an unexpected but impressive campaign.
Further, the Blue Jays also find themselves with a decent chance of being one of the home clubs for the opening round. They enter Tuesday’s slate of games in fifth place, 4.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays at the top of the AL standings and with a game in hand.
Of course, at this point there is no way of knowing how this will all play out for the Blue Jays. However, at least they can look forward to a level playing field if they do qualify for the postseason and then advance to the Division Series round.
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What do you make of MLB’s setup for the postseason? Do you believe it will makes things fairer for the Toronto Blue Jays? Let us know in the comments section below.