For openers: MLB tries again with short season, skewed rules

June 24, 2020 News On Demand
bruce-maxwell

FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2017, file photo, Oakland Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell kneels during the national anthem before the team's baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Oakland, Calif. Maxwell is the only major leaguer to take a knee during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a game. Major leaguers have not, in general, been the first set of players in pro sports to speak out on issues of social injustice. We'll see what stances they take on and off the field when games return. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

bruce-maxwell

NEW YORK (AP) — By the time Major League Baseball returns in late July, it will have been more than four months since teams last played. The season is now going to be a 60-game sprint to the finish, held in ballparks without fans and featuring some unusual rules. There will be a designated hitter in the National League and extra innings will start with an automatic runner on second base. Fans already have started to wonder whether anyone can hit .400. The mark hasn’t been achieved since Ted Williams did it in 1941. And they are certain to debate how legitimate a World Series trophy is when it’s awarded after such a short season.