Colorado Rockies: A possible change in the 2020 playoff structure due to COVID-19?

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone was on MLB Network Radio this morning and discussed some possible changes to the playoff structure in 2020 so that as many MLB games can be played by the Colorado Rockies and the other 29 teams.

The Colorado Rockies are hoping to return to the playoffs in 2020 after missing out in 2019 but making it in 2017 and 2018. However, if they make it, it may be a shorter playoff schedule and later than usual due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone was on MLB Network Radio this morning and he discussed what he has heard may come to the playoffs in 2020.

He said that this is “[t]he ultimate chance to try some things…I’ve heard things about neutral site [postseason series], where you’re playing a whole series, eliminating some off days.”

With the season likely being pushed back, Boone said that they may experiment with playing in warmer weather areas and domed stadiums later in the season but, obviously, if this happened in the regular season, schedules would have to be changed.

He later said that it can be used to see whether or not they want to keep the changes (if they work) or forego the changes (if they don’t like how they work).

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This has been used before in baseball and fairly recently. In 1981, the MLB players went on strike after June 11 and returned to play the All-Star Game, which was postponed until August 9. As a result, MLB decided to split the season into two parts and expand from four playoff teams to eight. The four teams that were in first place at the time that the players went on strike were automatically in.

The four teams that would finish in first place in the “second half” of the season would also make it. The winners of each half in each of the four divisions would face off against each other in the “division series.” The winner of the best of five would face the winner of the other divisional series in the League Championship Series, just as before.

There were some unintended consequences, though. Particularly, in the National League. Each of the four winners of the halves did not have the best overall records in their division overall.

Those were the Montreal Expos, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Houston Astros.

All four teams would have been in either second or third place in their league had each half been combined. As a result, the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds, who had the best overall record in their leagues but both teams came in second place in both halves, missed out on the playoffs. The Reds had the best overall record in baseball, but not good enough for the playoffs.

The split-season format was done away with but it is used in some leagues in the minors but the best of five division series was brought back to baseball in 1994.

It ended up being used for the first time in 1995, though, as the work stoppage wiped out the final seven weeks of the 1994 season, the playoffs, and most of spring training and April of 1995.

Rob Manfred said that he hopes to play all 162 games. I think everyone is hoping for that but, unfortunately, that looks to be close to impossible at this juncture. Getting rid of some of the off-days would be a possible solution.