© Thomas Shea | 2017 Oct 21
The MLB Postseason as we know it may not be long for this world. According to a report in the New York Post on Monday, a handful of radical changes are on the horizon that will send fans who have yet to accept the second wild-card slot into a tizzy.
Let’s start with the two most significant proposals, both of which would begin in 2022. The first is an expansion of the amount of playoff teams in each league from five to seven, meaning 14 of the 30 MLB teams would make it to the postseason each year. It would also mean that the wild-card teams (4) would outnumber division winners (3) in each league.
But here’s where things get truly bizarre. The second major proposal is that the two division winners in each league who don’t have the best record, and the wild-card team with the best record, would each play a three-game series with one of the bottom three wild-card teams. The division winner with the best record would receive a first-round bye.
To determine who plays who in the first round, the No. 2 seed (division winner with the second best record) would get to choose their first-round opponent from the bottom three seeds. Then the division winner with the worst record would choose from the remaining two, leaving the wild-card team with the best record to face whomever is left. Every game in the three-game series’ would be played at the higher seed’s home park.
This is extremely confusing, so let’s use last year’s National League standings to explain what the postseason might’ve looked like under this structure.
The Dodgers finished with the best record of any team (106-56) so they would receive a first-round bye as they did last year under the current structure. The No. 2 seed would be the NL East winning Braves (97-65), the No. 3 seed the NL Central winning Cardinals (91-71) and the No. 4 seed the Nationals (93-69) who finished atop the wild-card standings.
That would leave Brewers (89-73), Mets (86-76) and Diamondbacks (85-77) as the final three wild-card teams, as they finished with the best records of the remaining teams. As the highest seed without a first-round bye, the Braves would then select their opponent from that bottom-three group. Let’s say they choose the lowest seeded D-Backs. Then the Cardinals would choose between the Mets and Brewers as their first round opponent. Finally, the Nationals would be stuck with whomever is left.
The selection of playoff opponents would be televised, and the changes would coincide with the expiration of television deals with ESPN and Turner.
The MLB likely hopes this will solve a handful of problems including teams not spending money in free agency, lack of late-season meaningful games and the questionable fairness of the current wild-card one-game playoff. All changes will have to be collectively bargained for. The current CBA expires after next season.