The A’s have made the MLB playoffs five times in the last 10 years. That number would drop significantly if qualification was based on early results. The notoriously slow-starters would have missed the postseason three more times if they were only judged by a 60-game cut-off date.
That could be bad news for the A’s entering a 2020 season where they should be World Series contenders under normal circumstances. This campaign will be anything but that, with limited time to get the campaign in due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Major League Baseball and its players union still don’t have an agreement to play the season, with lots of public haggling and animosity between the sides.