As MLB gets underway in 2020 with a revised and reduced schedule, we’ve done the same with our season previews, using a special “60 Words for 60 Games” format. Our writers have returned, this time offering summaries for each team with a strict 60-word limit.

1. AL & NL East
2. AL & NL Central
3. AL & NL West

Previous intro:

Welcome to the sixth edition of Banished to the Pen’s season preview series! Once again, we’re proud to publish a set of 30 writers from the Effectively Wild podcast community. Some of our contributors have been writing for us regularly since the very beginning, while others return to be occasional contributors.

The most exciting pieces for us, however, are by those taking a stab at baseball writing for the very first time. These writers represent, after all, the spirit in which Banished to the Pen was created – an outlet for anyone in the Effectively Wild community (and beyond) to try their hand at writing about the game we love.

Here in the 2020 preview series we’re introducing a new set of “Most Effectively Wild players,” defining success for our teams, uncovering interesting food items, revisiting blockbuster trades, predicting win totals, and, of course, litigating a banging scheme. We aim to post three trios of previews a week, in sometimes-alphabetical order. Thanks as always for coming with us for the ride.

You can also check out how our win predictions fared versus the pros.

1. 1. ARI (Nick Strangis), ATL (Matt Mudd), BAL (Chris Baber)
   2. BOS (Jamieson Weiss), CHC (Ben Bailey), CHW (James Cardis)
   3. CIN (Mark Neuenschwander), CLE (Marina Bostelman), COL (Dan Freedman)
   4. HOU (Daniel R. Epstein), KC (Nathan Valentine), MIA (Jon Jacoby)
   5. MIL (Andrew Ingrelli), MIN (Lee Pietruszewski), NYM (by Michael Conte)