Could baseball allow post-COVID games to end in a tie?

With Father’s Day upon us, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are discussing a holiday-appropriate gift for their remaining fans:Ties.

The New York Post says an industry source confirmed a report by USA Today that, in their recent discussions to restart the 2020 season, the owners and players have agreed to contemplate calling games as ties after a certain number of extra innings. Concurrent with that, the two sides have signed off on the idea that extra innings will begin with a runner on second base, as utilized previously in the minor leagues.

The impetus for these adjustments is less tied into the longstanding concerns for time of game and more specific to the coronavirus. Little benefit exists to extending the length of games and the accompanying exposure of the players to each other.

These concepts would go into place only if the two sides collectively bargained an agreement; the owners want to play a 60-game season, while the players have countered with 70. If commissioner Rob Manfred unilaterally implements the conditions of the season, then all bets are off.