Major League Baseball: 2020 Season

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JohnBM01

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It has been a week since one of the most unusual World Series to date happened. No Home team won any game of last season's World Series. There was a World Series celebration in Houston, Texas; but NOT for the home team. The Washington Nationals won the World Series in the full seven-game distance for the first time in their franchise history, breaking the hearts and souls of the highly-favored Houston Astros and Astros fans. Washington "Finished the Fight" while the Astros failed to "Take it Back." That was 2019. What about 2020? We normally associate 2020 with things like having 20/20 vision. If you want to think of it that way, then one team is going to have the perfect vision of being champions of the 2020 season.

This thread is all about everything that goes on ranging from offseason moves to whomever wins the 2020 World Series. Almost anything regarding Major League Baseball and all of the different news and notes are all fair game to discuss in this thread. Let's discuss the 2020 season if you are inclined!


To give you an idea of what to look forward to in 2020, let's look back at 2019.

(! = division winners)
(bold = playoff teams)

--- AMERICAN LEAGUE: Final 2019 Records ---
AL EAST: New York Yankees! (103-59), Tampa Bay (96-66), BOS (84-78), TOR (67-95), BAL (54-108)
AL CENTRAL: Minnesota! (101-61), CLE (93-69), CHW (72-89), KC (59-103), DET (47-114)
AL WEST: Houston! (107-55), Oakland (97-65), TEX (78-84), LAA (72-90), SEA (68-94)

--- NATIONAL LEAGUE: Final 2019 Records ---
NL EAST: Atlanta! (97-65), Washington (93-69), NYM (86-76), PHI (81-81), MIA (57-105)
NL CENTRAL: St. Louis! (91-71), Milwaukee (89-73), CHC (84-78), CIN (75-87), PIT (69-93)
NL WEST: Los Angeles Dodgers! (106-56), ARI (85-77), SF (77-85), COL (71-91), SD (70-92)

--- 2019 Playoff Summary ---
* AL Wild Card Elimination Game: #5 TB def. #4 OAK 5-1
* NL Wild Card Elimination Game: #4 WAS def. #5 MIL 4-3

* ALDS 1: #1 HOU def. #5 TB in 5
* ALDS 2: #2 NYY def. #5 MIN in 3

* NLDS 1: #4 WAS def. #1 LAD in 5
* NLDS 2: #2 STL def. #3 ATL in 5

* ALCS: #1 HOU def. #2 NYY in 6
* NLCS: #4 WAS def. #3 STL in 4

* World Series: #4NL WAS def. #1AL HOU in 7

Of course, it pains me as an Astros fan to discuss how that World Series went, but it's the truth.


We can now discuss everything from offseason moves to the 2020 World Series right now. So...

PLAY BALL!
 
To begin with the 2019 superlatives.

Houston OF Yordan Alvarez wins the AL Rookie of the Year award after posting a .313 BA with 27 HR and 78 RBI in 87 games. Alvarez was selected unanimously.

New York 1B Pete Alonso wins the NL Rookie of the Year award after posting a .260 BA with 53 HR and 120 RBI in 161 games. The 53 HR led baseball and set both MLB Rookie and New York Mets single season records.
 
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Yordan Alvarez was impressive in 2019. Just too bad his bat went mostly silent in the postseason. We certainly could have used his power during the ALCS and the World Series. Congratulations on the NL side to Pete Alonso.
 
"We're the 2017 Houston Astros, 2017 World Series Champions, and we steal signs!" ...or at least, what someone like ex-Astros pitcher Mike Fiers is accusing the Houston Astros of in their 2017 World Series triumph. It would be interesting to see what comes out of this in case something does materialize from it.
 
Justin Verlander (HOU) is your AL Cy Young winner by narrowly edging out Gerrit Cole. Many predicted Mike Trout of LAA would win the AL MVP over Alex Bregman of HOU, and M. Trout took home the AL MYP over A. Bregman. I haven't followed the NL side of the Cy Young and MVP honors, but congratulations to all NL MLB award winners from the 2019 season.

On more active matters, Major League Baseball could vastly punish the Houston Astros over allegations of stealing signs. Reportedly, the Astros had some kind of electronic camera set up to try to steal signs. Baseball is no stranger to various kinds of unconventional and unfair methods. What makes this much different only adds to a lot of the underhanded stuff baseball has seen throughout its history. There's still a lot of off-season left, but this could really hurt the Astros in 2020.
 
Reports indicate that former Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is now with the Chicago White Sox. So that means Kid Keuchy returns to the AL after having his time with the Atlanta Braves. Good thing Keuchel isn't in the AL West. Otherwise, we'd have to face him about four times or so a season.

With a lot of the changes to the Astros' lineup, I don't think my Astros will have as much firepower or pitching prowess as they used to. That even includes us shipping off players like Jake Marisnick and Gerrit Cole (to NYY). The Yankees may now lay claim to having the best starting pitching right about now.

This is still a long off-season. So many other serious trades and moves can still materialize before Spring Training begins in mid-late February 2020.
 
It used to be that the 2017 Houston Astros were being investigated for illegal sign stealing. Now, it's the 2018 Boston Red Sox being investigated for the same thing! Both HOU and BOS beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the respective 2017 and 2018 World Series. This is at least what I've read when I poked around Twitter a few minutes ago. It would sure be interesting to see what comes from this, if anything.
 
After rumors that seemed to have been going on forever, the Reds finally signed Shogo Akiyama, the first Japanese player to ever play for baseball's oldest team. It makes for a crowded outfield. I have a feeling someone will be getting sent away for a shortstop now that Jose Iglesias signed with Baltimore. Anyway, we may have a legitimate lead-off man for the first time since Choo about 5 years ago. The Billy Hamilton experiment never panned out, and the array of players we tried at the spot saw little improvement. This should be an interesting season.
 
As if Houston didn't feel like crap after the NFL's Houston Texans blew a 24-0 lead at the Kansas City Chiefs, MORE bad news for Houston sports. Major League Baseball has fined the Astros $5M USD and taken away 1st and 2nd round draft picks for this upcoming season and next. These are all in line with the Astros being caught stealing signs in their 2017 World Series triumph. Astros' owner Jim Crane then did what seemed unthinkable- firing head coach A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Luhnow. Not yet disciplined were Carlos Beltran and Alex Cora from that 2017 Astros squad.

So, yeah... we're probably going to stink for a while. As if Houston already is knee-deep in sports futility Hell even before this...
 
As if Houston didn't feel like crap after the NFL's Houston Texans blew a 24-0 lead at the Kansas City Chiefs, MORE bad news for Houston sports. Major League Baseball has fined the Astros $5M USD and taken away 1st and 2nd round draft picks for this upcoming season and next. These are all in line with the Astros being caught stealing signs in their 2017 World Series triumph. Astros' owner Jim Crane then did what seemed unthinkable- firing head coach A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Luhnow. Not yet disciplined were Carlos Beltran and Alex Cora from that 2017 Astros squad.

So, yeah... we're probably going to stink for a while. As if Houston already is knee-deep in sports futility Hell even before this...
Cora may be gone for multiple seasons, if not indefinitely. Beltran will either be suspended or fired by the Mets for lying.
 
THIS JUST IN...

Amid the sign-stealing scandal of the Houston Astros, the Boston Red Sox and Alex Cora have agreed to part ways. The investigation is still ongoing in this sign-stealing scandal.
 
The Twins managed to get Donaldson!

I can’t wait to watch this team get eliminated by the Yankees in the playoffs! :dopey:
 
Cora may be gone for multiple seasons, if not indefinitely. Beltran will either be suspended or fired by the Mets for lying.
Only took 48 hours but the Mets have indeed let go of Beltran due to his involvement.
 
Derek Jeter and Larry Walker have been selected for the HoF. Walker is a pleasant surprise, the only thing surprising about Jeter is it wasn't unanimous (he was 1 vote short).
 
Derek Jeter and Larry Walker have been selected for the HoF. Walker is a pleasant surprise, the only thing surprising about Jeter is it wasn't unanimous (he was 1 vote short).
I feel like there's always that ONE person who refuses to vote for a player their first time on the ballot, no matter how much of a slam dunk they are.
 
Nick Castellanos is now a Cincinnati Red. The Redlegs snapped him up for reportedly a $64M USD four-year deal. He will stay in the National League and the National League Central, as now an ex-Chicago Cub. Maybe this will help Dolph Drago's Reds be a bit more competitive and perhaps get more wins.
 
The Reds are spending, spending, spending this off season. Mike Moustakas, Wade Miley, Shogo Akiyama, now Castellanos...The outfield is getting crowded. It wouldn't surprise me if we sent some people shipping to grab another bullpen arm or shortstop. I ain't complaining. This lineup is sick. :)
 
Apparently, the Houston Astros have found their man for coach. We're apparently going to have Dusty Baker as our coach. Houston Astros fans- get to know your new coach.
 
Apparently, the Houston Astros have found their man for coach. We're apparently going to have Dusty Baker as our coach. Houston Astros fans- get to know your new coach.
Have fun watching him gnaw on that toothpick while leaving the starter in way too long. :)
 
THIS JUST IN...

Word has it that Dusty Baker has agreed to become the Houston Astros' manager. So it's official now. Should be interesting to see how Dusty Baker hopes to move the Astros forward in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal. We might get a little bit of an idea since Spring Training 2020 is less than a month away.


[UPDATE/OMISSION] The deal for Dusty Baker is reportedly either a one-year deal or a two-year deal. So it doesn't seem like a long-term solution for a 70-year old like Dusty Baker. Kind of makes you wonder whom the Astros may be eyeing long-term from Dusty Baker.
 
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I wish Curtis Granderson the best in his retirement. He announced his retirement recently after 16 years of service in Major League Baseball.
 
Sorry! I posted material for ANOTHER thread here! Here's what I MEANT to post...

James Click is now the new General Manager of the Houston Astros. He comes over from the Tampa Bay Rays. So two team principals for the Astros since the firing of A.J. Hinch and Jeff Luhnow now include Dusty Baker and James Click.
 
Big trade went down last night as OF Mookie Betts is now an LA Dodger, OF Alex Verdugo is now on Boston along with P Brusdar Graterol and SP Kenta Maeda is now a Minnesota Twin. In an unrelated deal, OF Joc Pederson and P Ross Stripling have been traded to the Angels for prospects.
 
Most people have it like the 2020 World Series (or a future one) will be the New York Yankees vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers. Almost as if either or both teams are those "World Series Champions or bust" teams. The Dodgers should be pretty potent now with their additions.

Next week or so should be the starting up of Spring Training. Or at least, preparing for Spring Training. The Houston Astros' slogan for this season is " #ForTheH ." After being the butt of many recent jokes from the sign-stealing scandal, the Astros will have to do a lot to get over these monkeyshines that have tainted their 2017 World Series triumph.
 
After 13 years of MLB service, LAA's Kendyrs Morales is retiring. I wish him the best in his retirement.
 
Big trade went down last night as OF Mookie Betts and P David Price are now LA Dodgers, OF Alex Verdugo is now on Boston along with INF Jeter Downs and C Connor Wong, P Brusdar Graterol and SP Kenta Maeda is now a Minnesota Twin. In an unrelated deal, OF Joc Pederson and P Ross Stripling have been traded to the Angels for prospects.
Let's correct this trade shall we?
 
Whereas today was to be the teams and players reporting for Spring Training, most of the day was dominated with the Houston Astros and their press conference. I even watched this morning as the likes of Jim Crane and Dusty Baker talking with the media and answering questions. I didn't see all of what was discussed. So all I looked on was mostly highlights on sports shows.

If you don't know where I stand on my beloved Houston Astros and their status of late, let me disclose my thoughts. Part of me says this is something that is going to scar the Astros for life. It almost seems petty there was no knowing of any behind-the-scenes work of sign-stealing and cheating that the Astros want to admit to. On the other hand, I feel this is just another example of the sneaky nature of baseball. Sign-stealing is a matter of cheating; but at the same time, this is no much more different of other past conspiracies like pine tar or (dare I say...) steroids. I just think this is something that while bad in its own right, is not much different than anything else that has dirtied up the already dirty sport of baseball. I also kind of think this is all bad because this is the Astros... as opposed to if the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, or Los Angeles Dodgers. You know- more established championship-winning teams. The jury is still out on the 2018 Red Sox's cheating allegations as of present, but the Astros are getting chewed out like gum.

I am not condoning cheating of any kind or saying it is acceptable. All I am saying is that while this is a black eye for the Houston Astros (and perhaps even Major League Baseball), this incident is not too much different from any other sneaky or underhanded acts in baseball. So it almost comes to a point where you care... but don't seriously care because it's just another dirty deal in an already dirty sport. Just one more. Just another day. Who [honestly] cares?


That basically rests my case on my beloved team.
 
Teams and athletes are gonna find a way to get a leg up, the old adage "If you aren't cheating, you aren't trying" is constantly brought up, but I'll be honest what gets me is the way it was relayed. It took someone making an accusation for it to be seriously investigated, though they'd been slamming trash cans and whistling signals at all their home games. Didn't do any of that away from Minute Maid, none of the conspiracy theorist that swarm over every single twitch in a game paid it enough attention?

As for some LA fans wanting history changed, the Dodgers collapsed themselves at home. Even with cheating, you still have to hit the ball and throw strikes.

John's 'Black eye' thought is exactly what this is. It's a black eye that will fade in time, quickly if Houston makes a deep run this season under scrutiny, less so if they fall off the win wagon entirely.

I think I said it elsewhere, but only one championship was ever stripped after a cheating allegation, and that was in the NFL almost 100 years ago, so unless they were doing something fully taboo the Astros were never losing their title, just some picks in the draft, which may as well be a lottery itself, some staff gone, and a lighter wallet. Nothing that can't be overcome with a solid and organized front office.

However, history says be ready for heartbreaking losses in ALCS eliminations with Dusty Baker. Good luck.
 
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