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Bryce Harper Lays Out Wild Ideas for 2020 MLB Season on Instagram and They May Actually Work

By Jerry Trotta

Philadelphia Phillies OF Bryce Harper
Philadelphia Phillies OF Bryce Harper / Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

Players around Major League Baseball were quick to voice their resentment toward the owners' proposal to kickstart the 2020 regular season. Of course, those demands were highlighted by a 50/50 revenue split that would see players take a significant pay cut.

In light of the of the week-long dispute, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper has taken the initiative to outline his own blueprint for a potential campaign. While his ideas don't exactly give players a second to catch their breathe they could actually work.

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

That's A LOT to digest.

Harper starts by laying out a 135-game schedule that would span 138 days from July 1 to Nov. 15. Teams would play 13 straight days and conclude that stretch with a seven-inning doubleheader on Sunday. While the 27-year-old superstar isn't sure where games would be held, he added that every other Monday would serve as an off day.

That sounds like a lot of strain on the arms of pitchers, particularly relievers, but the six-man rotation isn't too shabby of a proposal, and Harper's suggestion of 30-man rosters would go a long way in relieving that burden.

Now that the regular season is settled, let's dive into the former NL MVP's postseason design.

Harper is advocating for a 10-team round-robin style tournament that would feature best-of-three series AND on-game wild cards fixtures. The outcome would see two teams remaining -- one from the East and West (conference?) --that would compete in the World Series.

Folks, this is crazy enough to the point where it could work. We'd like to see more off days for players, but those kinks could be sorted fairly easily.

Somebody get commissioner Rob Manfred on the phone.