There was a veritable ocean of anecdotal evidence in recent weeks that baseball fans were turned off, ticked off and a bunch of other “offs” by so much fighting between the league and the players’ union — especially during a global pandemic.
The agreement finally reached in baseball early this week, calling for, among other things, a briefer-than-brief 60-game regular season to begin July 23 or 24, at least gives fans something to chew on, no matter how strange it tastes.
But, really, 60 games? Anything could happen in 60 games. Down could be up, up could be down. A rabbit out of the gate might never get caught. Team and individual statistics will be largely meaningless. So much for all that tradition.
Not to be melodramatic, but isn’t this an affront to all that is righteous and holy about the sport?
In this week’s “Polling Place” — your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter — we asked for respondents’ feelings about a 60-game slate.
“America needs this,” @Anthony91530562 commented. “Baseball has brought our country back from World Wars, tragedies (9/11) and now the COVID-19 pandemic. I think baseball is the perfect healing agent for a country that desperately needs something positive to look forward to.”
I’d accuse Anthony of being a tad melodramatic, but I’m too busy dabbing at this giant tear in my eye.
Not everyone is as psyched for the season, such as it will be.
“The union has killed our interest in baseball,” @AllenSturgill wrote.
Killed as in dead or killed as in kind of banged up and we’ll see if it doesn’t dust itself off and return to form a bit down the road?
Either way, as you’ll see below, a huge majority of respondents were in the make-the-best-of-it camp in regard to 60 games. On to the polls:
Poll No. 1: My take on a 60-game MLB regular season?
Baseball is back. "Polling Place" is back. The workers tearing up my bathroom are back. Do you get what I'm saying? V-O-T-E! Selected comments will appear in Saturday's @suntimes.
— Steve Greenberg (@SLGreenberg) June 25, 2020
1/3: My take on a 60-game MLB regular season:
Upshot: This is rather reminiscent of an earlier “Polling Place” result on bat flipping. It seems the old-school crowd — those who live by the creed that there are “right ways” and “wrong ways” in baseball — is dwindling. Either that, or they just don’t follow me on Twitter. Hey, 60 games? Whatever, dude. Let’s just have fun with whatever we’ve got.
Poll No. 2: If limited seating is available at Guaranteed Rate Field and Wrigley Field this season, will you go to a game?
2/3: If limited seating is available at Guaranteed Rate Field and Wrigley Field this season, will you go to a game?
— Steve Greenberg (@SLGreenberg) June 25, 2020
Upshot: “As long as no mask is required,” @beerfan09 commented, representing the beliefs of what — one hopes — is a tiny sliver of Chicago baseball fandom. Most voters are cautious about this, even if cautiously optimistic. “I’m going,” @ChiTownSports wrote. “I’ll be careful and wear a mask, but I want the experience.” And from @Gnome89: “I don’t trust the people who will be there without masks. Going to a baseball game is not worth the risk of contracting the virus.”
Poll No. 3: Outside of Cubs-White Sox, which “division” matchup will be the most fun in 2020?
3/3: Outside of Cubs-White Sox, which "division" matchup will be the most fun in 2020?
— Steve Greenberg (@SLGreenberg) June 25, 2020
Upshot: If Sox fans are great at one thing above all others, it just might be piling in to dominate polls that also involve the hated team across town. That said — heck, yeah — seeing the Sox take on erstwhile division rival Milwaukee will be fun (not that we haven’t seen it in interleague play or anything). And you have to like @Mr_Pouty_Pants’ reason for voting Sox-Cards: “Because the grumpy, old-school Cardinals and their fans will hate the bat-flipping swagger of the Sox.”
