Major League Baseball Chatting About Keeping The Universal DH, Expanded Playoff Field

During the 60-game slate last season, Major League Baseball had a number of different rules in place to make the game safer and more streamlined for players.

The 2021 season is about two and a half months from kicking off, and league officials are now considering whether these 2020 rules should stay in place or go away for 2021.

“Change is abundant now,’’ Oakland A’s manager Bob Melvin said.

"In every walk of life. And if you don’t embrace it, you get stuck in the mud.’’

USA Today reports that MLB is talking specifically about bringing back seven-inning doubleheaders and extra-inning games beginning with a runner on second base, which got mixed reviews.

Officials will also have to decide whether to implement a universal DH and whether to continue with an expanded postseason. Sixteen teams made the playoffs in 2020, creating a much wider race to get into the playoffs down the stretch and drawing more interest among fans.

The playoff field would go down a bit, from 16 in 2020 to 14 in 2021. The extra round of postseason would bring in extra money as the playoffs would be televised on ESPN, but right now, the talks have stalled.

The report says that the DH rule will be staying, but that the union has to approve it first.

Right now, Major League Baseball continues to straighten things out so that spring training and the 2021 season can start on time.