While I and the entire baseball loving world have spent the last couple of weeks basking in the ray of hope that there will be a 2020 season, Major League Baseball and the major sports networks faced a extremely difficult task: put together an entirely new season schedule as quickly as possible. Something that usually takes 6-12 months of planning now had to be turned around in matter of days, albeit about one-third of the size. The updated 2020 schedule was released this week and as I mentioned in my last post, it features a 60-game schedule with teams playing entirely within their geographic divisions. Opening Night on ESPN will feature the defending champion Nationals hosting the perennial favorite Yankees on July 23rd. The Brewers will be opening their 2020 slate at Wrigley Field on Friday, July 24th with their home opener against St. Louis the following Friday. I highly doubt that fans will at any point be allowed into games this season, and I doubt even more that I would feel comfortable enough to attend a game this year, but I now live a mile from the ballpark so you damn well better believe I will be there tailgating on Opening Day like I always am.
If you were caught up in the excitement of reviewing the 2020 schedule and were completely blindsided by the 2021 release, you were not alone. MLB one-upped themselves by releasing next season's schedule at the earliest calendar date in history (historically it has been August or September). It was certainly calculated to release the 2021 schedule this early in an effort to ride the high of excitement from fans now before they start losing them again during next year's CBA negotiations. It did make me wonder how our shitshow government was able to release multiple coronavirus stimulus packages and MLB was able to release two schedules, both in a week span, but it took 4 months for the players union and owners to essentially agree to nothing. It certainly does not bode well for the next couple of years. But on the bright side, the Brewers open up the season next year against the Twins and that will be amazing!
Also on the bright side is that Erik and I are already able to start dreaming up our 2021 trip. We are currently eyeing the 2nd weekend in April for a Tour 2020 Redux to see the Rangers and Astros, and we are both praying to the baseball gods that there is an available vaccine and the minor leagues still exist by then.
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
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