Historic Milestones Will Be Missed Without MLB in 2020

Any good argument supporting Ted Williams as the greatest hitter ever must mention the milestones he didn’t reach, in addition to all of his accomplishments.

Williams missed nearly five full seasons, including prime years from ages 24-26, while serving in the military. He easily would have reached 600 home runs and 3,000 hits. The lost seasons of Williams are tantalizing, their excellence surely would have rivaled the years of his two triple crowns, six batting titles and .406 batting average in 1941.

Now, we’re faced with the real possibility of a canceled 2020 season, which has been suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus. If that happens, every player will be a year older when baseball returns—one year closer to the end of their careers.

That includes Mike Trout, the best player on the planet. As Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci wrote, the Lost Season of Trout “will forever leave a bittersweet ‘what if?’ aftertaste to his career.”

Hall of Fame case closed? These baseball legacies could suffer if MLB’s season is canceled

The 2020 Major League Baseball season is delayed, indefinitely, and it’s not at all certain to ever begin. It’s not clear when the country will be able to lift measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic, or how baseball could fit into the much larger puzzle of society this year.

With the season in question, there also come (less important, but nonetheless interesting) questions about how the history of the sport will reckon with the shortened slate or potential gap in action. Such as: Who in the game right now might eventually have their Hall of Fame case altered by the pandemic-stricken 2020 season?

There have been strikes, and players have left for military service, but missing games are missing games, and they will affect some more directly than others when legacies coalesce years down the line. With that in mind, the Yahoo Sports staff got together and explained why these Cooperstown hopefuls have the most riding on 2020. - Zach Crizer

A list that may be of interest to compare with the ones of Jay Jaffe’s I’ve linked to in the last few days.

Five Losers of MLB’s Offseason

Pitchers and catchers officially begin their preseason workouts this week, ending an eventful offseason where many teams improved their rosters heading into 2020.

For all the winners of the winters, though, there are the offseason losers. These are the clubs that failed to make the necessary roster upgrades, the free agents who miscalculated their values and the aging players in the twilight of their careers whose services are no longer desired. Below are the five biggest losers this winter.

So, any losers who you’d like to add to the list?