Dave Roberts: 2020 champion shouldn’t receive asterisk

Should the 2020 World Series champion receive an asterisk? Dodgers manager Dave Roberts offered his thoughts.

How ironic would it be if the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series in 2020 and the record books recorded the achievement with an asterisk, while the 2017 Houston Astros championship season remains unblemished?

If baseball returns in a different format for the 2020 season, some believe statistical milestones and team accomplishments should be marked with an asterisk.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts doesn’t think so.

He sees this season as being particularly challenging, given the circumstances created from the novel coronavirus, and therefore, teams deserve to be recognized for rising to the top.

“There will be no asterisk,’’ Roberts told USA Today. “When you look at all of the hurdles, keeping your team together emotionally, and what your players have to do differently to prepare for this season, you can argue it would mean more than going through the duration and grind of an eight-month season.

Obviously, with the Dodgers favored to make another appearance in the World Series, it makes sense that Roberts would make the case against qualifying the eventual champion.

Meanwhile, news came out yesterday that the Astros are trying to block the auction of one of their 2017 World Series rings, offering to purchase it for $1. Imagine trying to buy something you already stole?!  But I digress.

Under one of the many proposed plans for the upcoming season being circulated in the media, the Dodgers would actually find themselves in the same division as the Astros. There seems to be growing optimism a season will eventually be played, but the details change based on the latest report you read. Everything is fluid as MLB reacts to changing conditions across the country in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Several hurdles remain before baseball can be played.

Dodgers: Three options for a six-man rotation

A compressed 2020 schedule will likely require a six, or seven-man rotation for the Dodgers. Let's look at some candidates.

Both MLB and the player’s association have a financial incentive to play as many games as possible this season. Independent of that, for people worried about the validity of crowning a champion for the 2020 season, obviously, playing as close to a full 162-game season as possible alleviates some of those concerns.