MLB: The Houston Astros will be must-watch television in 2020

MLB has gone awhile without a villain, but the Houston Astros are more than accommodating to step up to the plate and seize that role.

MLB has its first “bad guys” in a long time and their names are the Houston Astros. This is not like the days of Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun returning from PED use with a major target on their back but rather a situation where the entire league is pitted firmly against one team. 2020 is going to be unlike anything we’ve ever seen in baseball, and ultimately, I believe the game will benefit from it.

We all know by now what’s gone down with the Astros and their cheating scandal that was for sure proven in 2017 and is still up for spirited debate whether they still did so in 2019 with the usage of buzzers under jerseys. But regardless of whether or not the Astros did cheat in 2019, enough people think they did, especially a large portion of the league, and that alone is enough proof to paint the best-run organization in the past five years as major villains of the baseball world.

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That makes the Astros a must-watch television product for 2020, especially once they hit the road. Not only will hardcore and medium level baseball fans rush to their televisions and buy tickets to see them play on the road against whatever home town team, but even casual and non-baseball fans will join the party as well because of the titillating controversy around this team.

Major League Baseball has had an issue marketing its stars in most recent years. Most people wouldn’t be able to recognize Mike Trout (the best player in baseball) if he was walking down the street. Now, we’re going to have more eyes on the game of baseball than we’ve ever had, so the stars will gain more recognition.

What makes this controversy/scandal so intriguing is not just the fact that the Houston Astros got caught doing what they did, but also because we’ve seen a massive vitriolic response from MLB’s players; stars even.

Mike Trout is the best player in baseball and we saw how displeased he was with his most recent comments. This is the three-time AL MVP calling dudes out.

Aaron Judge was Rookie of the Year and almost league MVP in 2017 and we saw what he said about Jose Altuve. We saw him take down his congratulatory tweet to Altuve when he beat Judge out for that MVP award in ’17.

Kris Bryant was the 2016 NL MVP and we saw how disgusted he was with the Astros during his media scrum a couple of weeks ago.

Cody Bellinger is the reigning NL MVP and he point-blank called the Astros out for “stealing a ring” in 2017 from Bellinger’s Dodgers.

This is a humongous deal around baseball and the game’s best players have stepped out of line to voice their distaste. Baseball players don’t do this. Baseball players are reserved. The fact that we now have legit “beef” between teams and players alike means that more eyes are going to be on the game to see what happens next.

It’s a bit sick and twisted, but ultimately, this Astros scandal is going to do wonders for the sport and get more people invested in it. 2020 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the history of Major League Baseball.

This Houston Astros team will get absolutely bombarded with opposing fan hate at every turn and when it comes to opposing players……specifically pitchers, it only seems fitting that Astro hitters will be wearing pitches like a cheap suit.

For right or wrong reasons, the 2020 MLB season will be one of the most intriguing I can ever remember and I cannot wait to see what happens.