MLB considering expanded playoffs

[albionmoonlight]

Baseball union head says players open to expanding playoffs - ESPN (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5728656)

I'm not a huge baseball fan, but one of the main things that I like about it is that its playoff teams earn their spots. 162 games + a small % of playoff teams means that making the playoffs means something.

I understand that more playoff teams means more $$. But that will come at the expense of something that baseball has going for it that the other sports have lost.

[bronconick]

I could be in favor of a 4/5 setup where the wild card teams have to "play-in" in a 3 game set at #4 to then face #1. Winning the division means something then. Finishing 4th means something still, then as well.

[molson]

I think adding one wild card from each league would actually make the regular season more meaningful. Wild cards would no longer be at an even level with division winners entering the playoffs (the two wild cards would have to play-in).

Combine that with a 7 game Division series and shorter regular season, and that's an outstanding season structure revamp, IMO. A 5-game series or shorter is a total crapshoot. Make the wild cards who didn't really earn it have to deal with the crap-shoot of a 3 or 1-game play-in, and then let eveybody else win or lose it on the field with nothing less than a 7-game series.

And, you give the smaller markets just a little more hope year to year. Maybe they spend a little more money if they're a little bit closer to the playoffs.

On the other hand, if they ever went to something like a 16-game playoff - I'm done. I'd just get some Ken Burns DVDs and go cry in a closet somewhere.

[EagleFan]

The single wildcard team being added I would be okay with. If they are going more than that I would not like the watered down aspect.

It's already bad enough that they are playing into November, I don't want to be watching baseball on Thanksgiving.

[Chief Rum]

I think adding one wild card from each league would actually make the regular season more meaningful. Wild cards would no longer be at an even level with division winners entering the playoffs (the two wild cards would have to play-in).

Combine that with a 7 game Division series and shorter regular season, and that's an outstanding season structure revamp, IMO. A 5-game series or shorter is a total crapshoot. Make the wild cards who didn't really earn it have to deal with the crap-shoot of a 3 or 1-game play-in, and then let eveybody else win or lose it on the field with nothing less than a 7-game series.

And, you give the smaller markets just a little more hope year to year. Maybe they spend a little more money if they're a little bit closer to the playoffs.

On the other hand, if they ever went to something like a 16-game playoff - I'm done. I'd just get some Ken Burns DVDs and go cry in a closet somewhere.

+1, except for the shorter season. I like that the records we have now have been established with the 162 game schedule for the most part, and records tend to mean something in baseball (putting aside the abortion that is the steroid era effect).

I would like to see more doubleheaders (which used to be a norm back in the day), and slightly expanded major league rosters to help with the resulting schedule crowding/fatigue, maybe to a 27-man roster.

[Big Fo]

Go back to having two divisions in each league and then have four wild cards in each league. The two division winners get a bye while the wild card teams play a five game series ridiculously quickly, like in three days maybe (with two doubleheaders). And then they get no off days before the next round, giving a bigger advantage to the division winning teams since homefield advantage is not as big as it is in the NBA, NFL, or NHL.

Or just leave things how they are but change the first round to a best of seven.

I also want either two teams to be contracted or added. I hate how each National League team was a 1/16 chance of winning the pennant while each American League team has a 1/14 chance. I would prefer contraction but I would accept the downsides of expansion in order to have an equal number of teams in each league.

[QuikSand]

I think it would be great if they played a 162-game regular season, and then had a 16-team, one-game-per-round, single-elimination tournament to determine their champion.

[SackAttack]

Go back to having two divisions in each league and then have four wild cards in each league. The two division winners get a bye while the wild card teams play a five game series ridiculously quickly, like in three days maybe (with two doubleheaders). And then they get no off days before the next round, giving a bigger advantage to the division winning teams since homefield advantage is not as big as it is in the NBA, NFL, or NHL.

Or just leave things how they are but change the first round to a best of seven.

I also want either two teams to be contracted or added. I hate how each National League team was a 1/16 chance of winning the pennant while each American League team has a 1/14 chance. I would prefer contraction but I would accept the downsides of expansion in order to have an equal number of teams in each league.

If you're gonna go that route, don't you also have to add or contract sufficient teams to ensure that each team has a theoretically equal shot of winning its own division?

Right now you have a 5/5/4 AL and 5/6/5 NL setup. You'd either have to contract six teams or add six teams if you want league equality as well as divisonal.

[SackAttack]

I think it would be great if they played a 162-game regular season, and then had a 16-team, one-game-per-round, single-elimination tournament to determine their champion.

You could call it October Madness!

[molson]

I think it would be great if they played a 162-game regular season, and then had a 16-team, one-game-per-round, single-elimination tournament to determine their champion.

It'd be cool if they just made it up as they went along, like it was the WWE determining its champions.

Like have that whole tournament, and then aferwards Bud Selig's theme music would come on, (I imagine bluegrass) he'd enter the field into the middle of the championship celebration and announce, "Not so fast, Texas Rangers...you have one more obstacle to the championship - right now it's going to be the Rangers v.....The NEW YORK YANKEES!". Joe Buck: "How can he do this! The Yankees are well rested, the Rangers just went through a 14-inning war. What a travesty!!!"

[Big Fo]

If you're gonna go that route, don't you also have to add or contract sufficient teams to ensure that each team has a theoretically equal shot of winning its own division?

Right now you have a 5/5/4 AL and 5/6/5 NL setup. You'd either have to contract six teams or add six teams if you want league equality as well as divisonal.

Yeah, I would prefer a two division format in this ever happened, 7/7 or 8/8.

[DanGarion]

Please no.

[Big Fo]

It'd be cool if they just made it up as they went along, like it was the WWE determining its champions.

Like have that whole tournament, and then aferwards Bud Selig's theme music would come on, (I imagine bluegrass)he'd enter the field and announce, "Not so fast, Texas Rangers...you have one more obstacle to the championship - right now it's going to be the Rangers v.....The NEW YORK YANKEES!". Joe Buck, "How can he do this! The Yankees are well rested, the Rangers just went through a 14-inning war. What a travesty!!!"

That would be amazing. Especially if the Yankees immediately came out onto the field to start flexing, posturing, and taunting the fans.

[DanGarion]

\

Right now you have a 5/5/4 AL and 5/6/5 NL setup. You'd either have to contract six teams or add six teams if you want league equality as well as divisonal.

Just move the extra NL team to the AL, problem solved. Of course I'd rather have 14 team leagues with 7 teams in each division, so we'd have to kill two teams still. :)

[bulletsponge]

It'd be cool if they just made it up as they went along, like it was the WWE determining its champions.

Like have that whole tournament, and then aferwards Bud Selig's theme music would come on, (I imagine bluegrass) he'd enter the field into the middle of the championship celebration and announce, "Not so fast, Texas Rangers...you have one more obstacle to the championship - right now it's going to be the Rangers v.....The NEW YORK YANKEES!". Joe Buck: "How can he do this! The Yankees are well rested, the Rangers just went through a 14-inning war. What a travesty!!!"

and Jeter runs out real fast and hits cliff lee with a chair right after the announcement. hmm this might get me to actually watch a baseball game

[molson]

and Jeter runs out real fast and hits cliff lee with a chair right after the announcement. hmm this might get me to actually watch a baseball game

Things would definitely look bad for the Rangers at that point - until A-Rod took off his Yankees jersey to reveal his Ranger jersey. IT WAS A PLAN ALL ALONG! (Or alternatively, A-Rod is emotionally moved by the plight of the Rangers, and fed up with the villany of the Yankees. He watches Jeter's heelish tactics until he just....can't....take it anymore.)

[DaddyTorgo]

Things would definitely look bad for the Rangers at that point - until A-Rod took off his Yankees jersey to reveal his Ranger jersey. IT WAS A PLAN ALL ALONG! (Or alternatively, A-Rod is emotionally moved by the plight of the Rangers, and fed up with the villany of the Yankees. He watches Jeter's heelish tactics until he just....can't....take it anymore.)

lmao

[JediKooter]

I'm ok with expanding the playoffs as long as they don't get carried away with it like the NBA and NHL does. By carried away, I mean how many teams make the playoffs.

[Young Drachma]

One team in each league hurts nothing. If they shortened the season, it'd help them rid the taint of the steroid era because records would effectively revert back to the old single season ones.

But even if they didn't, I think another wild card would be better than what we have now and would still keep baseball playoffs sacred if you will while being cognizant of the fact that modern times calls for a more adaptable format. I can't see anyone wanting anymore wild cards with the same number of teams, so I think we'd be fine for another two decades or so.

[LloydLungs]

I'm totally okay with it, and I've never been a fan of the wild card, mostly because it has ended division races between great teams. To me this plan kind of works for both the traditionalists and those who want more teams in the playoff hunt (but yes, ONLY one more team per league and you absolutely cap it at 10 playoff teams permanently).

Anything that puts the wild-card teams at a serious disadvantage is what I'm looking for. I'd really rather a one-game winner-take-all between the WC teams but players/managers don't want that (boo-hoo guys, WIN YOUR DIVISION). I could settle for a three-game series with potentially no off days to make sure it's a grind for the WC teams (reg season Sunday, Mon-Tues-Wed series, full playoffs start Thursday). I want them wearing out their best pitchers on the play-in series. If after all that they can still reach the WS, more power to em.

I never want to see another deal like the Yankees this year where they were basically losing the division on purpose in order to grab the WC and play their bitch in the first round again.

[Young Drachma]

Oh and what a lot of folks don't know is that non-qualifying second place teams in MLB get playoff shares already. Dunno how that was written into the deal, but it was and has been the case in the wild card era over the past few years at least. So why not let two of those teams in?


http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091106&content_id=7633592&vkey=perspectives&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

[RainMaker]

I'd rather just see them make the divisional series 7 games. Really hate the 5 game series.

[ISiddiqui]

I'm totally okay with it, and I've never been a fan of the wild card, mostly because it has ended division races between great teams. To me this plan kind of works for both the traditionalists and those who want more teams in the playoff hunt (but yes, ONLY one more team per league and you absolutely cap it at 10 playoff teams permanently).

Anything that puts the wild-card teams at a serious disadvantage is what I'm looking for. I'd really rather a one-game winner-take-all between the WC teams but players/managers don't want that (boo-hoo guys, WIN YOUR DIVISION). I could settle for a three-game series with potentially no off days to make sure it's a grind for the WC teams (reg season Sunday, Mon-Tues-Wed series, full playoffs start Thursday). I want them wearing out their best pitchers on the play-in series. If after all that they can still reach the WS, more power to em.

This. Exactly right. If you are going to have a Wild Card, make it 2 with a 3 game play in series - would allow Division Winners to have extra rest and the WC teams would have to use their best pitchers in the play in and scramble in the Division Series.

Also I'm glad that neither WC team made it to the World Series this year.

[Drake]

I consider myself something of a baseball purist (or maybe baseball lethargist would be a better term...I just don't like change, it makes me tired), but...

I love the WWE themed ideas.

I don't even know what I'm saying. It's crazy. Insane. Just so crazy, it MIGHT WORK. Why am I so excited about something that would be so patently wrong?

Damn you all. Damn you all to hell.

I wonder if OOTP can simulate that...?

[JediKooter]

One word: XFL.

[albionmoonlight]

(I imagine bluegrass)

Laugh. Out. Loud. (And I'm not even 100% sure why).

[RedKingGold]

The WWE themed ideas were, by far, the best part of this thread.