Despite the MLBPA and the team owners not being able to come upon an agreement on how much the players are going to get paid and how many games will be played. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed that there definitely will be a 2020 season earlier this week.
The player’s association after multiple rejections of plans that were made by the MLB and the owners, has finally let the MLB now determine a schedule as well as the date of return for the players. The Mets were likely to compete for a division title and possibly go deep in the Playoffs this season with a 162 game schedule. But a shortened season will give the Mets a better chance of going deeper into the playoffs.
The 2020 season will likely be around 60 or 70 games, and this will be great for the Metropolitans. Due to the current pandemic that is going on the MLB is highly likely to try to minimize travel as much as possible. This means that teams will mostly be playing teams in their division throughout the regular season. The NL East is arguably the toughest division in all of baseball. However the Mets have had great success in division games.
Here are the Mets records against their division opponents in 2019:
Marlins: 13-6
Nationals: 12-7
Braves: 8-11
Phillies: 7-12
This is a combined win percentage of over .500. Also this year there will likely be more teams that will make the playoffs, and a record of .500 or better means you likely make the playoffs.
There are also reasons for optimism for the Mets to have success this season as the top 2 teams in the division became weaker. The defending champions lost their top bat in Anthony Rendon and this is a big deal because he was able to hit .392 against the Mets last year and .397 in 2018. The Braves also lost 2 of their top players in Josh Donaldson and Dallas Keuchel. The Mets will tremendously benefit from not having to face these 3 stars as much anymore.
In addition to this the Mets have had nice stretches throughout the past 2 seasons. In 2018 which was Micky Callaway’s first season the Mets started out 17-9 in the first two months of the season. They were also able to finish the season on a 45-37 run. Last season they finished the first two months of the season with a 15-14 record. They concluded the season with a 48-29 run. This proves that the Mets are capable of having long stretches of success.
This season (if played) is definitely going to look and feel different. But ultimately the Mets are going to benefit from this, and hopefully this shortened season will allow them to make a deep run in the playoffs.
Photo: Elite Sports NY
