Revisiting the Bizarre Season of Pandemic Baseball 

The moment you realize the Covid season was 4 years ago…

you forgot to mention the SF Giants played a game with an eery dark Orange clouded sky cause of the California Wildfires that that smoked filled the entire state

So that season was emotional to me. My uncle, who took me to my first ever baseball game, passed away that year. The last thing he EVER told me was “Do you wanna go to dodgers open day”. For the dodgers to win that season made me the happiest person in the world. RIP unc.

You can't forget the Orioles scoreboard operator requesting a Pizza to be delivered to the ballpark during a ran delay.

Not the “Meet the Graham’s” beat for Braves vs. Dodgers…

Funniest part of the NLCS that year was that before Braves loss against the Dodgers, teams that were up 2-0 in the NLCS have peviously won their series 28-3

it's kinda of a shame that no one hit .400 in 2020, probably the closest shot anyone would ever have to do it, just one really hot start from a contact first hitter, and we could be talking about an even weirder record, that one random player who in 60 games managed to do what Ted Williams was the last player to do. It would definitly be a unticlimatic fact for the future. Instead of "Ted Williams (the Legend, the HOF, the American War Hero) was the last player to ever hit .400 in a full season", we could've instead had something like" Donovan Solano or Raimel Tapia (I choose one of these two because they were the two least recognizable players to finish in the top 10 of batting average in 2020) was the last player to hit .400 in a full season", so much more interesting.

Hard to believe it's been four years already......never forget the stands full of cardboard cutouts

For some reason I want to start writing a letter to Adonis Graham starting at 25:31

I grew up outside of DC and was a Nats fan since day 1. I moved to South Carolina in 2013, but swore that if my Nats ever won a WS I would drive up to DC the next year for Opening Day. I bought Opening Day tickets the day before the season got suspended. RIP

The AL and NL championship series went crazy that year 🔥

Good to know which side of the beef you guys picked 😂

2020 was the year MLB on Fox brought back its classic theme song from 1996

crazy to think how many past season playoff pictures would have been if they started in July rather than October

The next year was arguably even better! I think you need to make a video about the 2021 braves. They did choke in the playoffs in 2020, but in 2021 they could barely get above .500 for a majority of the season AND they lost Acuna for the season, but they were able to come back and get their revenge against the dodgers and win the World Series

It's crazy that Randy Arozarena did all that in 2020 with the Rays and, even though he played a handful of games for the Cardinals in 2019 (even the postseason), he still qualified for ROY, and won, in 2021. Lol.

Heard that meet the Grahams addition at the end 😂

Those 2020 Mets sure were elite, they just weren’t clutch. Somebody should make a video about them…

This was the year that ended up getting me in to baseball in the first place due to all of the nothing that was going on during the pandemic. I needed something to keep my mind occupied, then I saw the score notification for the Padres-Diamondbacks season opener on my phone. Decided to tune in during the 7th inning, and got hooked on the baseball I saw. 2020 was wild shit, and there was plenty I forgot about during this time that you (thankfully) brought back up. I had no idea that Dinelson Lamet was a shooting star that faded away as soon as he appeared-I just genuinely thought he was one of the best pitchers in all of MLB. Slam Diego was also probably the funniest baseball moment I had ever witnessed (wish I was there for Slamarena the following year, though). Definitely the most optimistic I've ever seen the fanbase, before the very next year immediately broke them. Still pretty sure we're broken given our reaction to literally any loss we take or cold streak the team/a player goes on. Regardless, fun baseball season that I never want to happen again. Also, I think Dominic Smith might be one of my new favorite baseball players. Mad respect for him to speak out against injustice and police brutality, and use his platform for good in that time. Seems like a great dude.

I hate the discourse too with the 2020 season and how it didn't count and you said it perfectly. Every team and EVERY player agreed to the terms and played it like a real season. 2020 playoffs were also really fun and entertaining! I was really happy we at least got baseball that year.

I have a fond memory from that year of Kyle Lewis taking advantage of a smaller sample size to win the AL ROY. I was actually glad to see my Mariners miss the playoffs that year, because it would have felt a little cheap to me for that drought to end only because over half the league got in. I will always remember the "underdog" Rays taking down two juggernauts to reach the Series, like you pointed out. That season is one I will never forget, and one that I agree shouldn't be lessened (apart from possibly the records set in a smaller sample size). The Dodger's won a legitimate title because all the teams were, as you pointed out, put into the same situation in 2020.

biggest postseason ever, that braves chokejob stil the most memorable postseason series of recent years.

The thing about the Mets in 2020: we know that they had terrible sequencing luck, such that their offense didn’t actually score as many runs as would have been expected. But Citi Field played really weird that season, in that it suddenly became a hitter’s haven-something it hadn’t been before and hasn’t been since. The fact that it briefly turned into a hitter’s park helped the offense, obviously, but it had a knock-on effect, which is that it turned their already questionable pitching staff into hot garbage. Syndergaard’s UCL went _asplode_ that spring before the pandemic started, then Stroman opted out after it started, leaving the Mets with Jake and…??? Rookie David Peterson mostly managed to stay on luck’s good side (and boy, was he lucky), but when you’re relying on guys like Rick Porcello, Michael Wacha before he rediscovered his changeup, and a hastily reconverted-to-starting Seth Lugo, in a park that suddenly hates pitchers, things are going to go sideways. (Jake-when healthy-would be brilliant in Coors with the wind blowing out, but he’s Jake. _Ghar waapas aaja, bhaiyya! Please, ghar waapas aaja!_ 😢)

Also the "as there's a drive into deep left field by Castellanos and that'll be a homerun" was born too lol

The Phillies fans outside the stadium with their air horns was the best. I actually missed it in 2021.

The A’s win their division this season was a 8/10

The 2020 MLB season was a fever dream. Now, let's never speak of it again.

Ain’t no way meet the grahams in this lol

I think one of my favorite parts from the 2020 season was not from the games being played, but from the MLB opening day at home where MLB streamed classic games on RU-vid. Everyone commenting like it was happening in real time, it was a great experience that I’m not sure we’ll get again.

Meet the Grahams 😭

Why we even bothered amazes me. The persistence and dedication to making this shitshow happen was impressive, you must admit. Dodger fans are sure glad we did though.

Gonna need that Meet The Grahams beat over more baseball compilations

The Meet The Grahams beat is so horrifying and im Braves fan, im going to see that in my nightmare, thank you

I did love being able to hear the game better cause of reduced noise from the “crowd” always fun when you can hear the players and umps and stuff yelling at each other

Although 2020 is a really hard year for many people in America, I really do miss the emptiness in the stands.

dinelson lametters stand up

That man was really crying about how it’s not fair and not getting opportunities when he’s a major league ball player….

As a Dodger fan, the 2020 season is both memorable and sad. I agree that I don't want it to ever happen again, as in I do not want a pandemic like that to ever happen again. The biggest fear during that time, wasn't getting covid for me. The biggest fear was having no baseball for a whole year. I was ecstatic when I found out that baseball was returning. I remember exactly where I was when that moment happened. In a year, where no one was having fun, and the world was at a standstill. The only saving grace, was that baseball was returning. I know the discourse around what other fans say about the 2020 season, I hate it as well. I cherish that championship because so many Dodgers are no longer on the team now. I couldn't imagine how terrible it would have been, seeing Joc Pederson, Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager win a World Series with another team. Even worse if I saw Clayton Kershaw, Justin Turner, or Kenley Jansen not ever win a World Series. I am glad it happened when it did. I believe the main reason the Dodgers won, and came back from a 3-1 lead in the NLCS was because they were motivated. Not motivated in the traditional sense, but motivated by the Astros sign stealing scandal. The 2020 Dodgers had a ton of 2017 players still on the team. The players were pissed, and I saw how different they were on the field and even in interviews. The Dodgers - Astros regular season series was heated as well, with the infamous Joe Kelly and Carlos Correa beef. I could have only imagined, what that 2020 World Series would have been like. The Dodgers were motivated by the scandal to win in 2020, I truly believe that it wouldn't have mattered if the season was 162 or not. No one was beating the Dodgers in 2020. (Except the Rockies that won the only series against them that year) Braves blowing a 3-1 lead and that embarrassment motivated them in 2021, and the Astros were motivated in 2022 with their embarrassment of losing so much in the World Series. These aren't facts, but they show how much an embarrassment can affect a team the following season. I refuse to believe all of these are just coincidental, and not a factor in a team winning a title. The 2020 Dodgers were one of the best teams, in the worst year possible. This year brings bad memories and happy memories too, i remember where i was when the Astros were caught cheating. I remember where I was when the season was suspended, I remember where I was when the season was brought back, I remember where I was when the Dodgers won the World Series. People may say that it was a easy season because it was 60 games, i beg to differ. The 2020 season was the most difficult season in baseball history. Not mentioning the covid precautions and restrictions in MLB, but there were no breaks. If your team slumped, it meant the end of the season and all postseason hopes. Those 60 games (including doubleheaders) were all a sludge. Everyday, needing to play your best and win as many as you can, because one loss meant as much as 15. If your team was one of the lucky 16, then you had a postseason which featured the first ever Wild Card Series. At the time, it was an extra 2-3 games in the postseason. If you happened to win, there was a LDS that had 5 straight games, and a LCS that had 7 straight games with NO days off. "You swept your opponent in the NLDS/ALDS, that's great." "Now, its just a 7 game series with no days off. Hopefully you sweep them too." "Oooooo both series went all 7 games." That was brutal and I don't think any other postseason series in history, will be more brutal than a 7 game LCS with no rest. That put every team to the test, only the best and team with the highest durability would pull through. The 16 team postseason was fun, but I do not ever want it expanded to that ever again. I would prefer to let it stay in the 2020 season. Keeping some of the things that stayed; like the ghost runner, universal DH, Wild Card Series, and other changes tried during that season. The 2020 season, will go down as the most difficult and unique season of baseball to ever be played. That is how it should be remembered, and how it should be never recreated. Leave it to the pages of history, since we all lived through what future generations will talk about. Whenever a "weird baseball video" gets created or watched in lets say the year 2046.

I vaguely remember this season, where the Red Sox possibly had the worst starting rotation I’ve ever seen.

Not meet the grahams in the background towards the end. so funny how deep in the culture Kendrick's disstracks already are

i hope dom smith knows he's a hero and has done more than his part just by existing

Straight up forgot about Snell getting pulled

I’ve been waiting years for this man

Okay gotta shoutout your great music choices here. I heard that lucky you beat and of course as Braves fan hearing meet Los Angeles.. ugh lol

Ima Mets fan and I was disappointed with our season. I loved everything else, though it was so much fun man.

The one thing I remember the most from this season is the Cardinals having to make up all their games. There was nearly a game every day the last 30 days.

I relenting so hype for the Braves’ Felix Hernandez experience

I cant believe Im saying this, but I think MLB handled this as well as they could. Which is funny, cause I cant think of a single other thing that I think they've done well at lately. But with Covid, they made it work somehow, and nothing horrible happened, so they get credit for that.

Looking back on it, I’m actually impressed with how this season worked. They could’ve just cancelled the season and I don’t think anyone really would’ve blamed them. Yes fans would’ve been pissed at first but over time they would’ve gotten over it but instead, the teams and players said screw it, we want to play ball and we’ll do whatever it takes. And for that, I’ll be thankful for them.

I'm not even an MLB fan, you just make great vids mate.

appreciate the 2003 clone wars music

I like how you sampled the instrumentals from Meet the Grahams, lol much respect

What about Jose A from the W Sox, AL MVP? That was “bizarre” in context….. the 2020 season better have an even bigger asterisk than Sosa and A Rod next to it.

As a Reds fan, I'll never forget waking up late for the first game of our Wild Card series against the Braves... and still getting to watch a full 9+ innings of some of the most atrocious baseball ever coming right off their eleventh hour comeback to make it into the postseason to begin with. Was just an awful series to watch

Loved the Anthony fantano clip!

Surprised you didnt mention Blake Snell and World Series Game 6

as a reds fan i'm all in for another season like this. a historically dominant pitcher destroying everyone AND a playoff spot?! heck yeah!

If the Braves had any other legit starting pitchers in the 2020 playoffs beyond Fried and Anderson, they would have wrapped that series up and won the World Series. They had to heavily rely on their bullpen because Cole Hamels basically disappeared after signing a contract, and Mike Soroka tore his Achilles at a point when he looked every bit of an ace as Fried.

The 60 game season was honestly alot of fun lol. Their could have been a chance of a team going 60-0 that season lol

Jose Abreu's 2020 MVP was an oddity you didn't mention. He regressed hard after 2020.

covid got me hard, not only as a fan pov, but in later years of the pandemic. Back in 2020, i wasn't really a baseball, hockey guy, like i am today, i was more into motorsports, like nascar and formula one. i read on the tv on tsn, that the australian gp of 2020 was being held a weekend in march. it was cancelled because of covid. up until last year, i never saw an australian grand prix in my life. Back in 2022, april, my family got covid, wasnt too bad but still, was home from school the entire week. yeah.

Baseball felt so wounded and vulnerable that year. It was like watching a loved one battle an illness. When fans returned and you saw the looks on a kid's face again when they catch a foul ball, things began to feel okay again.

Biggest bummer was being a Nats fan. Was the lack of fans, the Nats were riding the high of the fans and truly making them apart of the World Series run…just for them to never even get to see the gold uniforms in person 😞

Using "Last Christmas" as the backing track for the Mets vs Yankees exhibition game is hilarious

Here is a thought: many people say it was a Mickey Mouse season. I say it was not, and that it was basically one long playoff series. Teams had to be consistently good for the whole season. If a team went into a slump, each game was worth 2.5 games, so a 10 game slide is like 25 games in a regular season. If a player is in a slump, there is no time to work through it. If someone gets hurt, they will be out for pretty much all year. No time for rehab. No bringing up or sending players down because there are no minor league games. It was a wild time, and I would say it was the most difficult season for more reasons than one would think.

I was Texas Rangers spring Training in 2020 on the first week of March I was cut and then a week later Covid shut down it was bizarre. But it did change my life of what I’m looking for.

Using meet the grahams during Atlantas choke when Kendrick said Drake goes to Atlanta to steal culture is crazy 😂

Let’s go baseball time

I’m glad the Mets couldn’t prevail even in a shortened season 😂 the way the Braves lost to the Dodgers in the NLCS made me start watching baseball again I was mad af we gave up a 3-1 series lead I couldn’t believe it

This was the only time it was ok for me to spend most of my days watching a jays offence before it got screwed up.

I just got seriously into baseball like two years ago so watching this video is like looking into an alternate dimension. Idk how yall did it😭

Even those of us who experienced the 1981 baseball season had to say, yeah, 2020 was pretty batshit.

I know many aren’t gonna agree with this cause it’s “cool” to hate Joe Buck but hearing clips of his calls during these playoffs makes me miss him calling baseball. Dodger lover Joe Davis just doesn’t do it for me

the thing for me as a Nats fan was finally winning it all but not being able to properly celebrate it

Don't forget Cash pulling red-hot Snell in Game 6 of the World Series and effectively costing the Rays any remaining championship hopes in one of the biggest brainfarts in World Series history

Meet The Grahams beat is even scarier when you aren't expecting it at all... thanks for the nightmares.

A short season at a time that watching sports is the only thing to do was truly special. I think I can remember every single horrible moment of that Mets season, yet I almost miss it somehow

How fitting was it to put an instrumental version of last Christmas by Wham! knowing the fact that so many people tuned to Christmas movies and Christmas music to get away from the pandemic and every day news of everyone dying because of COVID-19

all i gotta really say is that the fact blue jays made it to the playoffs was the worst thing that could’ve happened considering how things are now

Love the yakuza footage at the end

during the world series the dodgers had a drive in at the parking lot of dodger stadium where you could watch the game. i went to game 5 and it was pretty cool. just like going to a drive in movie. definitely a little strange to think about now. driving to the stadium just to see the tv broadcast from your car instead of at home, but it was weird times.

one part that i really liked during that season was how since there no fans in stands how it was WAY easier to make out what players and coaches were saying.

Damn, you got that Fantano clip fast. XD

Baseball’s Not Dead provided interesting insight on how the 2020 season was negotiated.

“Everyone was mad at the Astros” Then they got the 2022 World Series title so everyone can shut up.

As a Cubs fan I hated it. After that year, it was clear the 2016 core was finished. I've never felt so hopeless watching baseball as I felt watching the Cubs in the playoffs that year. Sixto Sanchez wasn't even good, we just couldn't hit to save our lives. But as much as I love the Cubs, I love weird baseball and replacement level players even more. 2020 was obviously awesome in that sense. I even sorta liked the 60 game schedule. I wouldn't say I wish MLB would adopt that permanently, but the weird small sample size variance and the extreme importance of every single game was kinda cool. Definitely do not want to go thru COVID ever again tho

The Fantano “meet the grahams” reaction kills me. Lol

It was a wild season and the only thing that it confirmed to me was that the dodgers special when you look at the following season like the rays benefit from it when it came to the injury bug both of these teams pitching staffs are afflicted with

Still can't believe MLB and the players couldn't figure out how to play close to a full season. A lot of the sample size weirdness could've been minimized if they all got their head out their butts and played ball.

Remember the post season legend Mike Brossaeu haven’t heard about him since

Never forget with the Cubs. Alec Mills randomly getting a no-hitter just to fade off into nothing the next year.

Drake: Ah... time to relax, forget about Kendrick, and just watch a baseball video...." 25:04 😳☠️

Game 4 was one of the wildest endings I’ve ever watched. I thought for sure Rays were gonna come back and win.

I don't leave many comments on videos but I wanted to address something here. I'm not disputing your argument that the Dodgers were the best team in baseball in 2020; they were. The reason people clown on their championship is due to the sole reason that there wasn't a full season to play out, and many teams, like in the past, have had ample time to figure it out and make it to the game in October. the 2020 dodgers did beat out everyone in the postseason, that's a fact, but even with the lineup they've built since then (which has been far and away better since their championship) haven't repeated that success in the postseason. even in 2023 they lost against the dbacks that looked totally inferior, even though they had an even better lineup than they had in 2020.

“Oakland A’s want cardboard fans in stands.” That could have been from 2020 or 2024.

Definitely had a chance to mention the Mets hitting a walk off home run at Yankee Stadium… what a season

Whatever people think about this season it helped me get through some really tough times I have good memories of watching the playoffs in 2020

Keep up the good work

The dodgers had plot armor that year

You are a sicko for using the meet the grahams beat