Major League Baseball's last plan to launch its 2020 season amid the coronavirus pandemic — which essentially amounted to having players stationed for four months in an Arizona biodome — was largely panned by fans and rejected by players, who didn't want to go so long without seeing their families. But the league is optimistic they've found a different solution, that could have teams on the diamond by late June or early July, USA Today reports.
Details are still scarce, but the new idea involves scrapping the National and American Leagues for this year and instituting three, 10-team divisions based on geography, therefore reducing travel and allowing teams to play in their own stadiums without fans. Teams would only play opponents within their divisions, which are mostly a combination of the AL East and NL East, AL Central and NL Central, and AL West and NL West, save for flipping the Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves between the Central and East. The playoffs would then be expanded.
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