Phillies’ Bryce Harper shares ideas to modify 2020 MLB season

The 2020 MLB season remains very much up in the air, with league officials working daily to figure out how games might be played safely amid the coronavirus pandemic.

It appears Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper has some ideas, too, which he shared in an Instagram post in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Harper, a six-time all star, prefaced his suggestions with the notion that health and safety “comes first” for all involved, and that it’s “just an idea I was thinking about.”

Here’s what the 2015 National League MVP proposed:

• Dividing the league into East/West conferences, as is done in the NBA and NHL

• Playing 135 games from July 1 through Nov. 15, with off-days every two weeks (and seven-inning doubleheaders on Sundays)

• 30-player rosters (versus the standard 26)

• Six-man rotations (versus the standard five), assuming pitchers are on board

• A 10-team round robin playoff format

• Possible playing venues in either Texas (at the Rangers’ new ballpark) or Las Vegas

• Due to the later end date, pushed back schedules for 2021 (May 1 opening day) and 2022 (April 1)

View this post on Instagram

Baseball Season:⠀ Beyond the health and safety which comes first for all players, staff, workers, fans, and families. ⠀ ⠀ Just an idea I have been thinking about. ⠀ ⠀ East/West like NBA. ⠀ ⠀ July 31 days⠀ August 31 days ⠀ September 30 days ⠀ October 31 days ⠀ November 15 days ⠀ 135 games. ⠀ Off day every 2 weeks on a Monday and Sunday double header 7 innings. ⠀ ⠀ 30 players. 6 man rotation. Save arms. IF pitchers wanted this. If not no big deal. DH and any other ideas possible.⠀ ⠀ Playoffs ⠀ 2 week World Series. Like Super bowl week. ⠀ ⠀ 10 teams round robin format College World Series kinda style at the new Texas Stadium or whatever stadium/ stadiums are best. 3 game series. You win the series you move on. You lose you play the other loser in a 1 game wildcard. Winner of that moves on. Other team is out. ⠀ Or you could play it in Vegas so you have the Strip Hotels and could use one hotel for all the guys and contain possibly? ⠀ ⠀ 2 teams left 7 game World Series. They get 2 days off before the series. With those 2 days off you do a All Star Game and homerun derby. Could do the MLB awards as well at that time. ⠀ ⠀ Open this up on all platforms. No blackouts. Open it for everybody to watch. ⠀ Then you back up season the next 2 years. May 1st 2021. April 1st 2022. Maybe I’m crazy. Just fun to think about and throw around ideas

A post shared by Bryce Harper (@bryceharper3) on May 15, 2020 at 10:27pm PDT

The 27-year-old closed his proposal by saying, “Maybe I’m crazy. Just fun to think about and throw around ideas.”

MLB recently sent a 67-page return-to-play protocol to the Players Association, which detailed proposals on testing frequency, social distancing in dugouts and much more.

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