Expanding baseball playoffs?

[Sport]

Even adding a 5th team is a terrible idea. Look at the NL this year. With 5 teams in the mix we would've lost all of the drama and intensity of the Braves-Giants-Padres final series. So instead of that we would've been focused on the exciting race in which we watch the Rockies and Cardinals finish 5 games out. Sweet, guys. More seasons than not an increased number of teams in the postseason would result in anticlimactic divisional finishes. Keep it the way it is.

I've posted this before, but this thread is as good a place as any and I think it does a good job of pointing out why the playoffs should be kept at 4 per league. If MLB used the NHL/NBA playoff system:

1 Tampa Bay Rays (96-66)

8 Oakland Athletics/Detroit Tigers (81-81)

4 New York Yankees (95-67)

5 Boston Red Sox (89-73)

2 Minnesota Twins (94-68)

7 Toronto Blue Jays (85-77)

3 Texas Rangers (90-72)

6 Chicago White Sox (88-74)

NL

1 Philadelphia Phillies (97-65)

8 Florida Marlins/LA Dodgers (80-82)

4 Atlanta Braves (91-71)

5 San Diego Padres (90-72)

2 San Francisco Giants (92-70)

7 Colorado Rockies (83-79)

3 Cincinnati Reds (91-71)

6 St. Louis Cardinals (86-76)

Teams with 81 wins (or less in the NL's case) should not have a chance to win the World Series. I know nobody is suggesting that baseball switch to the same format used by the NBA and NHL, but 5 or 6 teams per league isn't far off.

For the record, I've always thought it would be cool if one league used a completely different playoff format from the other.

[The_Admiral]

Some people would argue that expanding to 16 teams isn't fair to the #1 seeds. Short series, anything can happen, season invalidated, all that. I don't think it's fair to the #8s! God, let the poor Marlins and A's go home to their families already. You had six months to break .500 and you didn't do it. Just golf!

[CS85]

The MLB season is so long that it's already a de facto playoff. What will one extra postseason series prove that all of those games in September of each season don't?

Seconded. Why change for the sake of change?

[Mac the Knife]

Cut the regular season down to 144 games. Yes, 144, not 154.

Put the Milwaukee Brewers back in the AL and have three divisions of 5 teams each per league. Interleague play isn't special anymore, folks, so having it throughout the season isn't a big deal.

Have the 3 division champions and 4 wild cards from each league qualify - yes, add three wild cards to each league. But with a catch: The 4 wild card teams compete against one another in a bracket of one-game playoffs until all but one are eliminated. Want to add excitement to the postseason? Imagine the value a division title would have in such a scenario - and the heartbreak that could be caused if a Yankees or Red Sox won 101 games, missed winning the division by a single game... and then got knocked out in one game by the likes of the Detroit Tigers!

Then, if you want best-of-seven series throughout each round of playoffs, fine. With one more caveat: the season gotta, musta, hafta be wrapped up by October 25th. No excuses. This November baseball is getting old very, very fast.

[mania]

Cut the regular season down to 144 games. Yes, 144, not 154.

This would essentially kill stats as we know it. 300 wins would become harder (due to the starters missing 3 starts each season), as would 3000 hits, and just forget about anyone ever making a majestic run at any of the single season records.

[rams80]

Cut the regular season down to 144 games. Yes, 144, not 154.

This would essentially kill stats as we know it. 300 wins would become harder (due to the starters missing 3 starts each season), as would 3000 hits, and just forget about anyone ever making a majestic run at any of the single season records.

Without steroids anyway.

[WJMorris3]

Add 12 games to the season, make it a single table, and the top 2 teams go to the World Series.

[Magnus]

Two 15-team leagues. 10 games per in-league opponent. 10 games vs. opposite league opponent(s). 150 games. Playoffs any way you want it. I'm in favour of NHL-style playoffs, but any style mentioned would work nicely under this setup.

The interleague series (which would constantly be played throughout the season) could be featured as Interleague Series of the Week.

[BBTV]

IMO it would suck to have an interleague series in the last month of the year when teams are fighting against teams in their own division/league for a playoff spot. I think you want as many intra division and intraleague games as possible down the stretch.

[NJTank]

The only thing is maybe they should add one team have a Wild Card best of three round to add a greater reward for winning the Division, but the best of 5 is good for the Division Series.

[BBTV]

I do not want to see more teams in the playoffs. I also think they need to fix the way it's done now. It sucks to watch your team fight for 162 games to make it to the playoffs (which for many teams only happens once every 15 years or so) and then they get a 1PM game, a 3PM game, and then a weird 5PM game and they're done. A lot of people don't have jobs that allow for enough flexibility to go to or even watch these games, and sometimes it's all over before you know it. I think the fans deserve better.

That being said, I have no ideas and no suggestion for how to fix it. None of the ones in this thread are any good though.

[loogodude90]

Hmm, I like the way it is now. I don't think they should have more than 8 teams making the playoffs. BTW, I say this as an Orioles fan.

Two somewhat related changes that I wish they would make -

1)Ditch Interleague Play. It was neat when it first came out, but there's no excitement over it anymore (for me at least). It's lost its novelty. Also, I think it should be basically guaranteed that the World Series opponents haven't seen each other in the regular season, it would ensure an exciting and fresh matchup IMO.

2)Figure out a different way to decide home field advantage for the World Series, whether it be alternating years, a coin toss, or whoever has the better record. I don't like the idea of the All-Star game having any other real significance other than enjoyment. I think it's sort of unfair to make the All-Star game managers care too much about who wins the game when it should really be about trying to make sure every player gets to play. It seems like one manager could just be a dick and play the best players the entire game (including pitcher), and would be rewarded by getting his league home field advantage (in other words would be rewarded for winning rather than being a fair manager in terms of getting everyone in the game).

[infrared41]

I do not want to see more teams in the playoffs. I also think they need to fix the way it's done now. It sucks to watch your team fight for 162 games to make it to the playoffs (which for many teams only happens once every 15 years or so) and then they get a 1PM game, a 3PM game, and then a weird 5PM game and they're done. A lot of people don't have jobs that allow for enough flexibility to go to or even watch these games, and sometimes it's all over before you know it. I think the fans deserve better.

That being said, I have no ideas and no suggestion for how to fix it. None of the ones in this thread are any good though.

A major sport actually caring about the fans. That's a wild concept. That said, I agree with you 100%.

[Quillz]

I like the way it is now.

The only thing, ONLY thing I could see happening is adding one more wild card and have the two play in a best-of-three for a spot in the LDS, but that would require a lot of logistics.

I agree with this.

I'm not sure what to think here... On one hand, expanding the MLB playoffs allows for other good teams with winning records to make it, AND sets up the possibility of huge postseason upsets (like an eighth seed knocking off a top seed, for example.) But on the other hand, it will introduce the problem that the NBA and NHL have: More than half the league will make the playoffs and thus you bring into the postseason teams with losing records and water down the importance of the regular season.

Thus, I felt a compromise, somewhere between five and six teams from each league, would work. I originally was thinking of doing a NFL-style postseason where the best team from each league gets to bypass the first round, but that means they get to skip up to five games, which isn't very fair. Thus, I agree with your idea: Let five teams from each league get in, then have a round before the Division Series that is only played between the wild card teams. IIRC, that's how the NFL did its playoffs up until 1990... The fifth and sixth seed had to play a single-elimination game to see who got to take on the top seed the following week.

I don't, however, want the Division Series expanded to best-of-seven. Best-of-five is better because it means that the weaker team could potentially pull off an upset. I was thinking that with your idea, the Wild Card series would be best-of-three, then keep the LDS and LCS how they are now.

[Quillz]

2)Figure out a different way to decide home field advantage for the World Series, whether it be alternating years, a coin toss, or whoever has the better record. I don't like the idea of the All-Star game having any other real significance other than enjoyment.

Agree with you 100%, I don't know a single person who thinks turning an exhibition game into a rather important decision maker was a good idea. And you know what sucks? Baseball had it right before, by just having it rotate every year: NL got home-field in odd years (post-1994) and AL in even years. Why Selig felt this needed to be changed is beyond me.

There are two very simple ways to determine home-field advantage: Have it alternate liked it used to (this is how the NFL does it), or just give it to the team with the better regular season record (like in the NBA and NHL). However, I do like the idea of the wild card team, regardless of regular season record, not having home-field advantage in any postseason round and this should be carried over into the World Series, too. Should two wild card teams meet in the World Series, like they did in 2002, then the wild card with the better record gets home-field.

[Saintsfan]

It's not terrifically on topic, but I think weekend world series games should be played earlier. (3 or 5 maybe) .

I think more wildcards is kind of a crazy idea, the last few weeks of the regular season is practically playoffs for most teams on the bubble anyways. My personal prefference, do away with inter league play, play a 154 game season keep the playoffs as is, be done with baseball 10 days sooner. That's it. Oh and junk the DH as well.

[Mac the Knife]

Cut the regular season down to 144 games. Yes, 144, not 154.

This would essentially kill stats as we know it. 300 wins would become harder (due to the starters missing 3 starts each season), as would 3000 hits, and just forget about anyone ever making a majestic run at any of the single season records.

"Majestic run?"

Baseball statistics became meaningless to casual fans the minute Mark McGwire and his Popeye arms hit that 62nd home run. 300 wins would still be attainable by pitchers who did things old school (which none do anymore, frankly). While I won't go so far as to claim that no one cares about records anymore, their meaning in the minds of sports fans has significantly diminished in the past generation - making this argument specious at best.

In reality though, it all comes down to money. If MLB figured out that they somehow could make more $$$ playing a 120 game regular season followed by a 24-team playoff format, they'd do it in a heartbeat. I just think what I proposed would serve a dual purpose of both adding more teams to the mix, while at the same time making the playoffs themselves more exciting.

[pcgd]

One of the biggest problems (I think) with the Playoffs is the 5 game series and ability of a mediocre team riding 2 hot pitchers through the playoffs. It typically gets sorted out by the 7 game LCS. But with a 5 game division series, you easily can have 2 pitchers win that and knock out a better team. Its not a huge deal, but I prefer the 7 game series but the playoffs can already kinda drag on anyway.

What about adding a wild card team per league and then a 1 game playoff between the two? I don't know about you, but every year I'm hoping for a tie between 2 teams. Nothing is more exciting than that win and you're in game. This would knock out the wild card's ace at least for game 1 of the LDS. It would then give the team with the best record in each league a real advantage.

If you do this, you'd have to allow inner division matchups in the LDS I'd think. But I think that could be really exciting to see and you'd see teams fight to win their division instead of coast as a wild card winner.

Logistically, if you move the season up or add a double header or 2, you could have a 3 day layoff after the regular season. 1 day of possible tie breakers/travel, the Wild Card Games the 2nd night, and then a travel day to get the wild card winners to their next game.

I like this more than a 3 game series because you don't really disrupt the other division winners. In a 3 game series you also make the wild card team pitch their best 2 pitchers, which potentially gives them a HUGE disadvantage...

[JayJaxon]

I like the idea of maybe adding one more wild card in each league then having them go in a one game playoff or best of 3. But I am not in favor of most teams making the playoffs like in the NHL and NBA. This isn't little league where everyone gets a trophy even if you suck. I take pride in the fact that in my favorite sport, it is so hard to get into the playoffs. It validates the teams that make it every season. Yes people were getting sick of seeing the Braves go all the time and the Phillies and Yankees are in that boat too because they are going every year. But with only 4 slots per league every season, it is incredible that some of the same teams can find a way to make it in every year. 14 consecutive division titles is a record that probably won't be broken in any sport. But with a new playoff format that includes more teams it would be possible for one team (or several) to see the postseason 10, 15, or even 20 years in a row.

[BBTV]

I don't like the one-game playoff idea. Depending on how things line up, you could have a #1 ace vs a #3 or #4 dufus. I know there's the argument that that's the risk with not winning your division, but the game wouldn't really prove who's the better team, just who's lined up to be better on that one day. Any playoff should start with a few off days to help get staffs rested and aligned right. I understand that for tiebreakers there's just not enough time to do this, but that's always going to be an issue. Maybe there shouldn't be games to decide tiebreakers - maybe season series should do it (and if tied then do playoff game.)