Major League Baseball(MLB) is having a unique playoff opportunity, one different from both past and regular seasons. The MLB commission announced the teams for the 2020 playoffs with a late September start. There will be three rounds of a 16 team postseason in which the Division Series, League Championship Series, and World Series will all be played.

The 60-game regular season came to a wrap on Sunday, Sept. 27. The playoffs started with the wild card series on Tuesday, Sept. 29. The games are being played at the higher seed’s home ballpark.  

The MLB is approaching the season similarly to the NBA, employing the “bubble approach,” which attempts to minimize the risk of another COVID-19 outbreak within the MLB community. This was brought on by the Miami Marlins outbreak that occurred after players left the facility and saw outside people. The St. Louis Cardinals also had a team-wide outbreak that put the entire MLB season into question. In total, the league had to postpone a total of 43 baseball games due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

With the delay of the regular season, the MLB decided to listen to players and allowed their families into the MLB bubble. Players have spoken up against the MLB’s handling of this outbreak, citing that the MLB has loosened up COVID-19 guidelines. Players feel that the MLB should be held responsible for all of the previous outbreaks of the virus. The biggest fear for the MLB is having another outbreak, because if this happens, the team involved would have to quarantine for an additional two weeks, putting the playoffs off by two weeks. All teams would have the 28 man roster with an additional 12 players quarantine within the hotel without seeing the team. Every player, family member, and staff member will be tested daily for the outbreak to not occur.

Currently, there are no heavily favored teams to win the World Series. ESPN predicted that the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees will play in the finals. Senior Lucca Capparelli shared the same opinion. 

“The New York Yankees look like they have a good overall team with a good offense. But I believe that the Los Angeles Dodgers will win the World Series because they have a really good pitching staff,” Capparelli said.

Senior Peter Drager had a different stance to offer.

“The Atlanta Braves and the Chicago White Sox look like underdogs and I believe that one of the two can make it into the World Series,” Drager said. Drager thinks that the underdogs are going to win, especially because of the different types of playoffs that will be taking place.  

The MLB postseason is back, and players and families have adapted to the “quarantine bubble” which minimizes contact with the outside environment to limit the spread of COVID-19. This postseason is allowing for a unique and different type of baseball that we have not seen in the past.