We included links and tweets yesterday with information on the 2020 season. I thought I’d add some more extra ones that I found interesting, courtesy of Jayson Stark from The Athletic.
MLB teams have had a transaction freeze since March that kept them from adding Major League players. That freeze will be lifted tomorrow at noon, so we could see some immediate transactions being made as early as tomorrow afternoon.
Teams are going to have a pool of 60 players who are available for the Major League team. Stark notes that approximately half of those players will be on a taxi squad that trains at a different site than the Major League squad.
Adding on to that number is the roster limit, which changes during the season. The clubs are going to start with 30-man rosters for the first two weeks of the season. It will then be dropped to 28 players for two weeks, down to 26 players after four weeks. Stark also notes that there is no limit to the amount of pitchers on the roster. That’s a rule that was going to go into effect this year, but it’s been changed for obvious reasons.
Games that are started, but face weather delays, will be suspended if they don’t make it to an official game. This is the same as minor league rules, where if the first pitch is throw and the skies open up, then the game is resumed at that exact same spot. In the majors, it needs to go official and you only get suspended games if the score is tied. As Stark points out a few times in the article, MLB wants the players at the stadium as little as possible, so you won’t see any long rain delays. They’re also not planning any doubleheaders, but we will probably see them later in the year.
**We will have at least four articles today, including the one you’re currently reading. If any news comes up, we will have more. The other scheduled articles for today are as follows:
This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History – Birthdays galore, including two recent players who had their share of good times in Pittsburgh.
Obscure Pittsburgh Pirates – I went really obscure, but it’s someone who is known for one game in particular that is occasionally brought up. You might not know the name, but by the end you’ll be surprised at just how long he actually spent with the Pirates. This is highly recommended reading. Lots of research went into it.
1979 Season Recap – The Pirates play a doubleheader against the New York Mets
Hope everyone has a terrific Thursday!
SONG OF THE DAY
DAILY QUIZ
RANDOM STUFF OF THE DAY
I’m not 100% sure what qualifications they are using for the museum fact at the beginning of the video because I’ve been to the Ty Cobb and Joe Jackson Museums, so I know they exist. There’s also a Bob Feller one that is popular and probably many others in small towns. Anyway, here’s a good video on the Honus Wagner Museum
