Well, by now we all know that 2020 has been a crazy year for everyone, especially for baseball because there is no season plans as yet for the return of the sport.
If it comes down to not having baseball this year, many teams will have to confront difficult issues. MLBPA and the Owners have yet to agree on a set of terms for a shortened season. Honestly to me, it is crazy to think that an invisible invader that we now know as, “THE CORONA VIRUS”, has taken away so much from our lives. The pandemic has taken away our loved ones, our way of functioning in society, and now it has fractured our social activities in each of our communities.
Around this time of year, we all come together to watch and play sports, especially with the beautiful weather outside. Unfortunately, because of this pandemic, it has has flipped our way of life upside down and taken away what people are use to. If life had not been stricken in this way, many cities across the country would have come together, even though there would be a mix of different team colors. Everyone would have been busy supporting their favorite sports team.
All sport fans know about the plague of injuries that attack players during the season, but now COVID-19 has managed to have a strong hold on the great American Pastime. This will hurt a lot of teams, especially those with big-name players. Players like Mookie Betts are on a one year deal and will never see an inning on the field with the Dodgers. Then, you have players like J.A. Happ who will have a team option heading into next season.
As a Yankee and baseball fan, I have to ask the question that I am sure many other Yankee fans have as well: “Should the Yankees pay 37-year-old Happ 17 million dollars in 2021?”
I personally believe that Happ has not been terrible in pinstripes. In his 1½ seasons in Yankee pinstripes, he is 19-8 with a 4.28 ERA. Some might say that he is not worth 17 million dollars, but he definitely has done well on the mound. When he came over from the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018 at the trade deadline, he went 7-0 with a great ERA of 2.69. It was the best season of his career, setting a career-best of 193 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.13. In 2019, Happ had one of the worst seasons of his career. He posted an awful ERA of 4.91 and gave up a career-high 34 home runs.
We don’t know what he could have done this year and that makes the decision hard for the Yankees. For me, it make sense to bring Happ back, because in the end Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton are both free agents in 2021. This has to be a factor in the Yankees decision of whether they bring Happ back or not. The Yankees have had injury problems in the past, so it is always good to have an extra arm on the roster.
I know this video is from April 14th, but the things that the Commissioner of baseball touched upon still ring true today in the heat of the pandemic. Like many other athletes in other uniforms, Happ faces the uncertainty of whether or not their team will bring them back under new contractual agreements.
The Pinstriped Baseball Lane 