6:00pm: Union chief Tony Clark says he has no prior knowledge of these plans, Sherman tweets. Clark indicated he’d be open to considering changes as part of broader discussions. “Expanding the playoffs in a sensible way is something worth discussing when part of a much more comprehensive conversation about the current state of our game,” Clark says.
3:57pm: Major League Baseball is plotting a major shift in the sport’s structure, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The intention is to implement the changes as soon as the 2022 season.
This is not a done deal. Beyond any potential practical issues that could yet arise, it’ll need to be worked out with the union. As Sherman notes, though, there’s some reason to believe the changes could meet with the approval of the MLBPA.
First and foremost, the proposal under consideration would add two more postseason qualifying teams in each league, meaning that 14 of the game’s 30 clubs would be in the playoffs each year. The top overall team in each league would get a first-round bye, with the other teams playing 3-game series (all in one city) to advance.
That structure would assuredly change the roster-building calculus. In theory, tanking wouldn’t be as appealing, though it’d also increase the potential for cost-efficient postseason bids.
As much as anything, these rules would seem to enhance the meaning of late-season games. The first-round bye and full-series hosting provisions would help ensure that games late in the season still have meaning. And there’d usually be more competitive teams down the stretch.
Working out the full potential ramifications is always tough — there could certainly be some unintended (or subtle, counter-intuitive intended) consequences. There’s no indication whether the regular season would be modified to accommodate this new schedule, though that seems possible.
The proposal also includes one other eyebrow-raising provision. Per Sherman, the top three non-bye playoff teams would select their first-round opponents. This is a more or less standalone quirk, but one that does hint at some of the motivation here. Sherman notes that the league would plan to televise a live selection show. This package of potential changes is obviously designed both to increase the general competitive appeal of many games and to spice things up with some quirks.
dynamite drop in monty
Nice. Can’t wait til it’s like the nba and .472 teams make the playoffs.
jorge78
And it takes 3 months to finish…..
dynamite drop in monty
Diluted AND painstakingly tortuous. That’s how I like MY playoffs!
RedSox4Life4ever
I wonder if they would shorten the regular season to accommodate this. Still don’t like the change, it’s better how it is right now.
DrDan75
Nah, let’s just play baseball until Thanksgiving. That way the World Series can compete for ratings with the Cowboys/ Lions game.
StlSwifty
Can we just get Manfred out of there already?
looiebelongsinthehall
Just learned had this been in play last season., Boston would have made the post season. Enough said about why this is a bad idea. The Red Sox never seemed to get it together all year long and would have been in the playoffs. Ridiculous.
melkor77
This is a distraction perpetrated by MLB… stopped thinking about cheating for a while, didn’t you? Not me.
robertp
So how long do you want to hold onto that and think about cheating then? Perpetually? Baseball is a game. Enjoy it and move on.
cards04
You want the MLB to become a joke like that?
cards04
Like the nba
TrueOutcomeFan
The NBA is a joke?
BuyBuyMets
Yes the NBA is a festering, unfunny joke.
dynamite drop in monty
Ukraine is a game to you!??? How about I take your board and SMASH it!!!
richt
These days the NBA is vastly more entertaining than MLB, who can’t seem to get out of their own way.
ntorsky
The NBA is more like a whole comedy routine…it’s chock full of jokes.
Kayrall
Yes, the NBA is a joke
Kemajic
OMG!
fletch
Unwatchable at best
SabrinasDaddy
Seinfeld! I got it…
bencole
Yes the NBA is a joke. I grew up in Chicago in the Jordan era and played high school basketball, loved it. NBA now so bad I haven’t watched more than 3 minutes of a game in 10 years. Still love college basketball. NBA ruined it with all the marketing changes… more offense, no hand-check, star-focused rather than team-focused, too many teams in the playoffs, too much “let’s try picking all star teams” type garbage. The NBA ruined their statistical integrity and their history through marketing and there is fixing that. I’ll never watch or attend an NBA game again, no matter what they change back or how good the Bulls get.
bencole
*no fixing that
erauber
Always room for a Seinfeld joke
BPax
I too have had it with the WWWNBA. Fake if you ask me. “Superstars” travel, palm, get away with fouling. (you can’t have superstars foul out, that’s what the rubes paid $150.00 a ticket to see!), poor to no defense. It’s a hip hop league with the overpaid players and their “posses”. Who the hell cares about these punks?
BPax
I too have had it with the WWWNBA. Fake if you ask me. “Superstars” travel, palm, get away with fouling. (you can’t have superstars foul out, that’s what the rubes paid $150.00 a ticket to see!), poor to no defense. It’s a hip hop league with the overpaid players and their “posses”. Who the hell cares about these punks?
dynamite drop in monty
Get yourself a new map.
realsox
In my view, winning a division championship in MLB is perhaps the most difficult achievement in professional sports. Wild card teams dilute the value of that achievement. Adding another wild card team dilutes it further. The more wild card teams, the more likely that the eventual champion will be a team that won nothing at all during the regular season.
dynamite drop in monty
Agreed %100
jaysfan1988
I agree with your view here, but the problem is that winning a division is *so* hard that 50% of the league gives up before the season even starts and feels like they need 4 year rebuilds just to compete. This would change that (for better or worse).
silverrose
So then we make it so teams that finish at the bottom get relegated to AAA
mistry gm
WORSE.
Msusner87
Players union would never let that happen
retire21
Hilarious
johnrealtime
Like European football. I actually really like that idea but know it’ll never happen in the MLB
DrDan75
I agree with you. The eventual World Series winner isn’t necessary the best team on paper, it’s the team that wins a single elimination tournament.
There’s enough parity in the league that even the weakest teams win some games. I don’t think it would be right to create a scenario whereby a .500 or even sub .500 club could sneak into the playoffs, go on a hot streak, and wind up winning the World Series.
Msusner87
Those teams are still unlikely to win the World Series but it can happen even without these changes. The 2006 cardinals went 83-78 and they won the division and World Series,
ABStract
So then this would just make it even worse…
tylerw
In fairness to the 2006 Cardinals, they were a great team on paper. They dealt with a ton of injuries that year.
Dan Wohl
In what way is it the “most difficult achievement in professional sports”? Hard to see how that makes sense when each of the six divisions has to have a winner every single year…
Comrade Tipsy McStagger
I know what team the Yankees would pick, assuming it was an option.
colonel flagg
That would most assuredly be the Twins based on past success.
Boogaloo
The Twins will beat them eventually. You would think at some point just based on odds. I’ve never seen a team lose that much to another team I’m MLB, it’s insane.
mistry gm
Another Manfred “F” up. Baseball fans DO NOT want it turned into the national hocky league. Manfred had better be THROWN OUT before baseball is completely ruined.
Come on commissioner, leave the game alone!
looiebelongsinthehall
Plain and simple. This idea sucks and is again all about money, devaluing the season. I’d rather go to four divisions in each league with no wild card. I realize this will never happen but it would better the odds that the best teams were in the WS. Why reward mediocrity?
ABStract
I’m with you on 4 divisions per league, if they added a couple teams in the right places the new divisions would make way more geographical sense and cut down on travel
nowheretogobutup
I’d like to see them add two teams one in Tenn. and the other in Ind. both in major areas.
Mick1956
Well, at least all the negative people that hate on other teams will have the “my team made the playoffs the last ten years straight” rebuttal. That’s good, right? No, why do we need to be more like the NBA? NBA championship is not valued the same as MLB. Yes people like the fast pace and high scoring of the NBA, along with the “every team gets a trophy” mentality.
So move the fences in, have the playoffs be with every team, and have the regular season as 84-game competitions. That way, every game will be 20-17, like little league, and the simpletons will be entertained because the game will be much more binary (score or not score) and not have all that strategy stuff that people hate.
imgman09
……Next, a Team will Sue MLB for Not Making the Playoffs
walls17
No.
walls17
No.
Cave
My head hurts.
macstruts
Agreed NO!!!
A third of the teams is plenty.
1738hotlinebling
Oh go to hell manfred , I’ve had enough of this guy ruining the game , what the hell does this add a top seed wild card ? And plus the wild cards
chesteraarthur
More games add more $$$, he dgaf about how
Boogaloo
You think adding 3 games in each league adds that much money? Think about the teams coasting into the playoffs all of September cause hallf the league makes the playoffs. How many fans will that cost them?
Kemajic
It adds money. What else do they care about?
Ironman_4life
Its not Manfred. Its the owners pushing it. Kore games is more money.
Francys01
What? Really.
sheerterror
Very dumb idea!
yankeefan69
MANFRED SUCKS
nolesfan75
finally, I agree with a Yankee fan. Go Sox
mistry gm
Why have a season? wait till October and have a tourney. Manfred must go!
looiebelongsinthehall
Yankeefan, it might be the same but I’m just saying the idea sucks.
Eatdust666
The idea does suck, but lets be honest, it’s only even in consideration so Major League Baseball can reel in even more money.
PhanaticDuck26
I’m as much of a baseball ‘purist’ as a lot of posters and frequenters to this site, so I hate what Manfred has done with the 3-batter minimum rule. He says it is to speed up the game and enhance the fan experience, but come on.. How much time are you really saving in the long run? I don’t buy his logic here and I don’t like the ease with which he was able to change such a fundamental part of the game.
However, I am in favor of a slightly expanded postseason experience. Why? All of us here on this site love baseball, and there would have to take some catastrophic event to keep us away from this great sport. So, Manfred is done with us; he knows that we will be here till the end of our days. Instead, he is focusing on bringing new, younger fans into this beloved sport, and the best way to attract fans is provide them with a true sense of hope that their team can be competitive and entertaining. Honestly, how much fun is it to be a fan of the 8-10 bottom-dwelling teams? Do casual fans have any real reason to watch non-competitive baseball from these squads?
For the longer-term sustainability of the sport, I think letting two more teams into the playoffs is a great idea. It won’t ‘water down’ the experience; if anything, I think it gives more validity to the winning team because it had to push through one extra series. Don’t you think a team like the Dodgers, who are clearly a stronger team and more talented than the Nationals, would have liked to have that first round bye?
bencole
The sport is making more money than ever. Sustainability isn’t at risk here.
Michael Birks
Things that are easy to achieve are never respected, adding more playoff teams would cheapen the title in my opinion
DrDan75
In the old days, you had the National League and you had the American League. No divisions. No playoffs. The first place NL team played the first place AL team in the World Series. That was it.
spinach
But with the added teams you are increasing the likelihood that the WS winner will have had to go through a Wild Card round, which is more work than not going through a WC round, and the WC series will require two wins, which is more than the current one.
And in this new system a team could not skip the WC round as a reward for failing to win the pennant the way each league’s pennant loser gets to now, so more work for the runner-up.
Only one who doesn’t have a harder road to WS is pennant winner. Which is great if you liked it when winning the pennant really meant something.
cards04
Fine how it is. Manfred please don’t ruin baseball any further.
Ironman_4life
Agreed. Quit changing rules. But its the owners, not Manfred. He has little power over the owners. He is just a spokesman. The owners dont care about our feelings. They see $$$
mistry gm
Wrong. This is Manfred. DUMP HIM!
calrippen
ew
fmj
sooooo nhl part 2?
no thank you. fire Manfred.
Rangers29
WTF Rangers are in the postseason baby! lol no, that’s terrible.
DrDan75
Rangers vs. Padres in the World Series.
Danbino
This would be a money grab that doesn’t benefit the actual sport on the field. If you want to increase the number of teams chasing a playoff spot, then punish tanking or set a payroll floor.
ABStract
^this!
How do they have revenue sharing, but nothing that forces owners to actually use that money for the payroll!?
I mean the A’s have been paying nearly their entire team on just revenue sharing income for years now, but can’t afford a privately funded stadium!?
Shit’s weak
nowheretogobutup
Should be mandatory each team would have to have at least A$100M in team payroll or be fined a % of the amount there under the $100M.
Vin Scully
No.
brewpackbuckbadg
Assume three division winners will play three wild card teams. Only way I like this is is if it is a 5 vs 2 home game split. 3-2-2 maybe? Still don’t know if I like it.
read it wrong. Ignore. Really don’t like it now.
cards04
No they would add 2 wild card teams to each side which is dumber than who knows what
tedward111
Just read the comments here Manfred.
This is horribly unpopular idea.
What in the world is intelligent about this?
chesteraarthur
More tv $$
Tim Newport
Why stop with just ONE World Series? Why not put everyone in the playoffs and have 8 World Series winners? Then 8 teams can raise ticket prices and still sell out, right? And then all the other teams can tell their fans that they made the playoffs and they’ll sell out as well! And no baseball fans will be able to see through this charade, right?
TheLawAbides
Yay college football has lots of fans right? World series will just be a bowl game than we can see every playoff round sponsored by Domino’s and gold Bond.
pro4pro32goathletics
Noooo, please no. To have 162 games, so that almost half of the teams can qualify and play a best of 5 series? Echhh, C’mon Rob!
jdgoat
I don’t hate the idea, but that would create some unreal bulletin board material for the wild card teams that get picked first.
jdgoat
The current format is so much better however.
AssumeFactsNotInEvidence
If you’re a Jays fan—you definitely want this! How else are you going to sneak into the playoffs with New York, Tampa, and Boston ahead of you?
Just a fan
Why can’t they just leave the game alone! Ridiculous! This game will become a shadow to the way the game was once played with Manfred at the helm.
DarkSide830
i generally don’t hate adding more teams into the playoff mix in sports, but i think the MLB has their system down pretty well how it is.
cards04
Go to hell
bencole
This is disgusting. Manfred needs to go now. This is what makes the NBA so bad, and part of the reason I quit watching after loving it growing up. I may quit baseball as a fan if this happens.
User 4245925809
Have to make it interesting for all the little kiddies nowadays with such short attention spans and cannot keep those greasy..grubby little u know what skinners off of their little phone more than 2 minutes at a time.
jdgoat
I know it’s easy to take cheap shots like this, but the reason baseball is dying is because teams don’t really care about winning anymore, just as long as their making profits. The league is now in an era where the rich teams are selling off stars so they don’t have to pay them, not just the small markets. This is not a “kiddie” issue.
SLL
It’s not all because of the teams. Some players are willing to sign extensions, but most of the top players WANT to become free agents so they can “test their value on the open market.” (Harper, Machado, Betts, . . . )
Kemajic
MLB revenues are at an all-time high. Dying?
jdgoat
I guess I should say interest in baseball, not baseball itself. Seven years straight there’s been a drop in attendance.
DarkSide830
no, there is no reason. baseball is dying because a few people making money off of it claim it is. false narrative.
ABStract
Agreed
This will make the regular season a ghost town while everyone waits to watch the 3 month long postseason just like the NBA
Terrible idea
bencole
Baseball doesn’t need 12 year old kids. With football losing young kids playing it will get them back naturally. And baseball doesn’t need more money.
herecomethephillies2018
@johnsilver, please tell me you see the irony of you typing that on a computer or phone?
ABStract
^This
Way to notice the irony!
ABStract
It’s always “the kids” or “millenials” being attacked by “adults” doing the exact thing they’re bitching about kids doing…
(I’m in the “adult” category by the way)
User 4245925809
No phone and will not have one (mobile) as see them as nothing more than a distraction.
As for having a PC turned on? I’m retired, worked my life with so called wireless phones at end of that time and refused to get one then. As said.. A distraction. Cannot contact via regular phone, or email? It ain’t important enough without THAT kind of a ball and chain.
Would be nice to see kiddies today take a step back in time when there was no PC’s.. Phones. Worth money to observe.
mistry gm
#DumpManfredSaveBaseball
Buzzed Capra
Keep Manfred!!!
Babyswiss
The only thing I’d change is the one game play in into a 3 game series
mistry gm
Jdgoat can go watch knitting. Americans like BASEBALL.
DUMP MANFRED!
pinstripes17
fire manfred
stevep-4
Lets just do away with the games and let computers control the outcomes for better gambling purposes
datrain021
No way! I I’d be willing to consider a division leader from each league playing in a wild card game…if they expanded to 32 teams and 4 divisions. Otherwise status quo is fine with me. Why is Manfred trying to tinker everything!?! Stop and leave the minors and playoffs alone!
Braydon Gervais
Rob Manfred is trying REALLY hard to be the worst commissioner in sports. He’s already done everything in his power to ruin baseball since he took over might as well keep chipping away at it…
Spare Tire Dixon
Terrible. Just stop. There is no need to change something like that and it will only lead to the further devaluation of the regular season. Just like every other sport that has expanded playoffs
sufferforsnakes
I thought it couldn’t get worse than Bud Selig.
I was wrong.
Josh5890
Yea no kidding.
Dogbone
Well put.
DockEllisDee
Agreed.
brewcrewenthusiast
So painfully wrong.
highandtight
I think the team who completes the American Ninja Warrior course first should get a bye while the division winners see who can lose the most weight in a month while the wild card teams compete for the hand in marriage of a B-list actress…wait…what the h3ll is going on here? Can’t we just play ball?
chesteraarthur
I like this plan, but there needs to be a cooking competition in there somewhere…maybe to decide who gets home field advantage in the WS
mistry gm
You are an idiot!
Buzzed Capra
You sure do love calling people names, don’t you? You should be banned.
Throbinson Cano
boooooooooooo
Royalsfan12
Manfred needs to quit making these unnecessary changes and add a DH to the National League.
joegriff
Royalsfan12
I agree with you!
Way overdue!
realgone2
Go to hell manfred
Dogbone
Manfred is still ‘trying’ to figure out if, and who – might have juiced up the baseballs. Manfred is a complete clown.
phantomofdb
That is incredibly convoluted. And unnecessary.
marrtho
Teams should be able to pick their opponents AND……. Eliminate 1 player from that teams roster. Boom. Problem fixed. No need to thank me.
Rangers29
And for the player I am requesting to eliminate… the trash can operator – Los Angeles Dodgers, 2017
Kemajic
And the NYY, 2017
MoRivera 1999
NYY were investigated and the allegations of sign stealing were found to have “no merit.” They were fined a small amount for having a phone, but there was no video.
Ryan W
No no no no no
Robertowannabe
For those who are blaming Manfred, you do realize he works for the owners and this is the owners idea and not his. The is to maximize the ad money for the post season broadcasts to get the most out of the broadcasters that they can..Yell at the owner of your favorite team. Depending on the team you might want to make a list so you don’t forget all that you want to yell about.
realgone2
He can also not entertain their dumb ideas.
Strike Four
Here’s the thing: they both suck.
mistry gm
Hey Gozurman. Read the commissioners contract. This is Manfred, all Manfred. Fire the clown.
desertbull
What a joke. Get rid of this Manfred clown.
quin14
Stupid idea!!!!
themaven
Manfredian:
An adjective meaning incompetent,shortsighted or lacking even basic intelligence.
Example:
Baseball incurred a huge loss of popularity among its core fan base due to the manfredian changes to tried and true regulations and practices for no discernable reasons.
Royalsfan12
Lol
alt2tab
Shorten the season to 152. Expand the playoffs
Strike Four
Shorten the playoffs, expand the schedule however it takes to balance the schedule (I got it in 168 games = 12 home and 12 away, in four 3-game series throughout the year).
Kemajic
154 like it once was. PO expansion is unnecessary.
mrpadre19
Changing the number of games in a season……again….changes everything.
Season records……career records……just don’t do it.
An idea like this one “might work” if they added a couple teams and went to 4 Divisions.
phenomenalajs
They could do College World Series style round-robin double-elimination with the wildcard. The top two teams would play best of 3 series with the two division winners with lesser records. The winners of those series would face off in a best of 5. The winner faces the top AL or NL team for the pennant. That would definitely incentivize getting the best record in the regular season.
ntorsky
Ask the 2006 OR the 2012 Tigers what they think of waiting a long time to play their playoff series. Teams like the 2019 Nats build momentum by playing while the best team sits on their couch watching and getting cold.
Kemajic
Yeah, emulating the NCAA is sure the ticket. No thanks.
seamaholic 2
I agree the current structure sucks for good teams that happen to be in the same division as the uber-teams. But you solve that by making the wild card a 3 game (or 5 game) affair.
Babyswiss
Exactly
sithdude
Agree
marrtho
Each team should be given one gun with one bullet to use at any time throughout a series. People would watch that.
em650r
Wow some last place team can cheat to win
norcalblue
This sounds horrible
sadosfan
Playoffs start in March end in October
Kemajic
No more like Thanksgiving time. In the snow.
saveferris009
Hard to believe it wasnt so long ago that only 4 teams made the playoffs (2 per each league). Lol. Not a fan of expanding playoff teams…
Doug Bird
great for the owners. They won’t have to spend money on building agood team. Sub .500 will make the playoffs and we’ll have december baseball. Makes the regular season just like hockey, meaningless. Sad. Selig was corrupt. This new commish is just simply stupid.
Rich Hill’s Elbow
The NL still has pitchers batting and Manfred is concerned with the postseason, why?? If you really wanna adjust the postseason, change the wildcard game to a best two out of the three series.
Kemajic
And he has teams cheating right and left. More important stuff for a commissioner to deal with.
Josh5890
Initially I wasn’t for adding two wild card spots, but I liked it a lot more when I realized that it placed a much bigger emphasis on winning your division to keep out of the 1-game playoff.
IMO, anything that takes away the importance of winning your division hurts baseball
Otto371
Hate it hate it hateit. Stop this madness.
nats3256
I dont like extra teams, at all. I do like the idea of a 3 game wildcard series tho.
Strike Four
3 game wild card is nice, everything else is the exact opposite of where it should be going
we have 162 games, we have 6 months of the year, thats PLENTY, we dont need bad playoff teams. im so sick of these phony good teams who lose 3-0 in the first round, we need less playoffs, not more.
sithdude
Agree with you completely
Kemajic
OK with a 154 game schedule.
Josh5890
Initially I wasn’t for adding two wild card spots, but I liked it a lot more when I realized that it placed a much bigger emphasis on winning your division to keep out of the 1-game playoff.
IMO, anything that takes away the importance of winning your division hurts baseball
Strike Four
I think the unbalanced schedule has destroyed any chance of MLB ever having the actual-best teams in the playoffs ever again, there’s always a .480 team that goes 19-2 against a tanking team while going 0-3 vs an interleague contender. So pathetic to straight up ignore this.
Balance the schedule, then you wont need playoffs, we will know who the best team is, due to the sample size. Then all we would need would be AL v NL 7 game WS, that would be the only scheduled playoffs, with 7 game LCS’s only being played if there are ties.
Why not make things simpler? We are about to see the worst professional NBA all-star game of all time soon, a shining example of overthinking things. Why are we trending towards overthinking? Why not keep it simple, stupid?
jmag1976
why not just give a participation trophy to ALL the teams!
What a dumb idea.
ScottCFA
Let’s see…play games until mid-November – free snot mustaches in the north for everyone! OR, maybe cut the schedule back to 154 games and add some more playoff games, start the post earlier, end by Halloween. No snot mustaches! More fans will have something to root for and fewer meaningless DET-BAL games in September. This could work…
sadosfan
This reminds me of when as a kids we would play poker and thought it would be cool to make all the numbered cards wild cards. Was interesting for 1 round till we got bored.
Kapler's Coconut Oil
I’m not against more teams making it into the postseason, but I’d just have the wild card game become a Bo3 instead. Also wouldn’t mind the regular season being shortened by just a handful of games to accommodate it, especially now that there’s no August waiver deadline.
Rangers29
So what now, is Manfred going to shorten the season to 140 games so that we have all of September and October to do the postseason?
mistry gm
Allow steroids, allow sign stealing and give everyone a participation trophy…. yah Manfred.
kenphelps44
Wait until some team with a .440 winning percentage is playing in the World Series. Lets just give each team the Manfred participation trophy.
richt
At least they might get rid of the stupid one-game wild card play in. 7 is too many. 6 might be ok. 4 was fine.
Vizionaire
all in one city? take that and shove it up your behind!
Begamin
I wonder how thats even gonna work, its not like theres 6 stadiums in one city for them to play in. I guess theyll just have triple headers, but imagine 3 games that go into extras in that one stadium. Absolutely silly.
bkbkbkbk
This actually increases the incentive to win. It also creates comeptive balance for teams like the rays and Indians and leaves them room to not have to be perfect in their roster building. I actually like it. The only thing that I hate is elimination of the play-in games.! Those games are the best games of the season.
Kemajic
You are badly outnumbered.
mistry gm
Dumbest ass plan I have ever heard. DUMP MANFRED!
Strike Four
162 games is enough a sample scale, we want LESS playoffs, not more!
Top 2 teams in each league ONLY!
I HATE YOU, MLB
jdgoat
Do you just say outrageous things on every comment just to get a rise out of people? Cause this one is really pushing it…
its_happening
So outrageous they did this playoff format for 25 years and only took the TOP team in the AL and NL for over 70 years. Where’s the outrage exactly? Before you name-call, have a real answer this time.
the kutch
And I applaud you, Strike 4….
darkstar61
What a disaster that would almost certainly be. Math is not on their side on this.
So are they going to start issuing playoff bye weeks? Or is it just going to be at least 3 (maybe more, depending on ties) of those silly play in games before the actual post season starts?
Crazy idea, but how about just leave the game as is?
darkstar61
I see an update came saying that a Bye week it would in fact be.
So the best record club would have 5 days off before their post season begins. Considering it is a game of repetitive motions and streaks, I’m sure said bye would have no impact at all on their chances. /s
Dutch Vander Linde
Nooooooo. It adds to the possibility of a team with a losing record making the postseason.
goldenrodent
The priority should be to make the first playoff round best of 7 instead of best of 5.
Kemajic
Not without shortening the season to 154 games.
jdgoat
This is undoubtably a cheap money grab
ABStract
No!!!!!!!!!!
Can’t they just take our money and leave the game alone!??
ABStract
Can’t wait for the World Series to conflict with the super bowl…SMH
mistry gm
I agree 100%. Leave the game alone.
reebop989
They’re determined to ruin baseball.
Buhler02
Please no. They just expanded the playoffs a few seasons ago!!! Manfred go away. Playoff bye week? Baseball is about timing! So your reward for being #1 seed is a week off to throw your entire team out of whack, nice. Worst idea ever!!! Couldnt have picked worst timing for this either with the cheating scandal still fresh on everyones minds.
fisk72
Mr. December
8
Do not allow the Trashtros to have trash cans
danlwebb5
This is stupid.
Vizionaire
manfrog has moobs!
whyhayzee
“That structure would assuredly change the roster-building calculus.”
As someone who took five semesters of calculus and taught the subject for 15 years and passed an actuarial exam focused on calculus, roster-building has nothing to do with calculus. Somehow “calculus” and “inflection point” have crept into some of the articles here and it is kind of amusing.
By the way, this idea STINKS.
Fangdango
The world calculus doesn’t just refer to that specific mathematics discipline. It also can be used to simply mean calculation.
whyhayzee
2. a particular method or system of calculation or reasoning.
I guess I never got past the first definition. Thanks for the clarification. I didn’t get that memo.
2. US (in business) a time of significant change in a situation; a turning point.
I never got past the first definition of inflection point neither.
genre99
I guess a high score on the math SAT doesn’t translate to a good score on the verbal section.
whyhayzee
You got that right.
Fangdango
That would have meant the Mets (86 wins) and D’backs (85 wins) in the playoffs for the NL last year and Cleveland (93 wins) and Boston (84 wins) make it for the AL last year.
Of those, only Cleveland would seem somewhat deserving of a ticket to the post season.
Begamin
lol this is stupid
cant wait to see mediocre teams get handed their participation trophy
AzTigersfan
We all know what this about more money via tv revenue etc, Its a joke NBA NHL playoffs More one game playoffs. Not worth it
Begamin
When we asked for robot umps, a dejuiced ball, and for the Astros to actually get punished we didnt mean “ruin the MLB playoff structure for slightly more revenue”.
Buhler02
Somehow this is much more depressing than “Codebreaker” scandal.
Rezonator
Is Manfred TRYING to ruin baseball?
George Ruth
Yes
mistry gm
Yes
Eatdust666
Yes
Backup_Slider
Something has to be done to get the Mariners back into the postseason, right?
George Ruth
These potential changes to the Post Season is total BS especially with the 3 top teams selecting who they play in the playoffs
DarrenDreifortsContract
A perfect example of don’t fix it if it’s not broken. This is all about making more money. Just like it always is.
The Human Rain Delay
So you want the second best team (probably 100 win team) in the league to have to play in a 3 game series Now?
The 5 game division series is already a joke and you want to take that backwards?
This Is NOT adding a bye for the best team, its putting them exactly where they are Now-
Its subjecting (non 1 seed) Div winners to go into 3 game series –
In short, this is a horrid idea on all levels; Please please Dont
mlb1225
I’d be for it if they were adding a team to both the NL and AL.
Buhler02
At least one in each league
Kemajic
Diluting the talent further.
ChiSoxCity
Total money grab garbage.
No one wants to see a bunch pf mediocre clubs diluting the playoffs year after year. And nobody wants to say teams barely going .500 during the regular season get to a WS, let alone win one. No one. This is all crafted to ensure big market clubs (NY, Bos, LA) have a relatively easy path to the postseason. They’re going to ruin this sport just like the NFL owners ruined professional football. Not that anyone cares, since fewer and fewer people watch baseball anymore.
Kemajic
Baseball revenues are at an all-time high.
ChiSoxCity
And yet they’re screwing around with the game because young people don’t watch. Revenues are high because of four or five large market teams gouging the p### out of their respective fanbases.
ChiSoxCity
That may be true, given the amount of dough 5 or 6 large market teams mange to gouge their respective fanbases from. The rest of the teams are losing viewers, which is why they keep messing with the game.
kenny84
I wouldn’t watch that at all. Might as well throw every team into slots at the beginning of the season and have them play tournaments until there is one team standing. Complete garbage. Why dont you go improve Cricket or something Manfed. Leave our Baseball alone.
sherlock_
I DONT LIKE THIS DONT BE LIKE THE NFL PLEASE!
realsox
What happened to my earlier comment?
rct
We’re that much closer to a sub-.500 team making the playoffs.
bobtillman
It all makes sense, actually. As Sherman notes, both the ESPN and Turner TV contracts expire in 2021; as of course does the CBA. I’d suspect MLB has a rider with Fox (their contract goes to 2028) to increase payments based on the amount of playoff games they get. And with streaming services now everywhere, ESPN and Turner could very well have serious competition.
It doesn’t look like expansion is possible, at least not for now. And the days of franchise values increasing at a huge rate are probably over.
Expanded playoffs? Check. In-game wagering on line? Double check. Soon, team attendance will mean nothing.
number1dodger
Just leave things the way they are now. I’m really not a big fan of the wild-card playoff game. it should be four teams from each division. The 3 1st place teams and one wildcard.
Marlins2019
Almost half of teams getting into the postseason? What a joke. MLB is going to make their regular season a massive farce like the NBA.
vtadave
Guess maybe eventually that would help the Mets get in.
genre99
It takes 162 games for the cream to rise to the top. The playoffs are an insult to the nature of the game, and more layers of chance should not be added.
angelsinthetroutfield
This works well with the future idea of a 32 team (8 divisions & 4 teams per) league in mind. If that becomes reality then all division winners make the post-season with each leagues best team getting a 1st round bye. 3 game series’ follow with the remaining division winners hosting the “wild card” of their choice. I could get behind this assuming the ALDS/NLDS are shortened to 3 game series as well
Kemajic
Find something else to get behind.
mistry gm
Seriously? What a stupid NFL copying failure.
MarlinsFanBase
14 teams in the playoffs – 7 in each league…starting in 2022? I’m picking my Marlins to make the playoffs and win it all. First 7th seed to win it all, and still undefeated in the postseason.
bravesfan
They could take 30 teams to the playoffs and the marlins would still struggle to make it… just saying
42
Terrible idea! While it might increase some $$ for MLB, a) does a sub .500 team really deserve a playoff spot?; b) in a 3-game series, anything can happen, especially in a game such as baseball in which the element of luck increases so much during a relatively short series; and c) will all but kill fan interest in the trade deadline as nearly everyone will still be in contention for that last playoff spot.
But, this will at least give Manfred a distraction to talk about something other than the Astros and Red Sox cheating scandals.
ryanw-2
If sub-.500 team wins the World Series then it just proves that the playoffs are a crap shoot. If the 1988 Dodgers and the 1990 Reds can overtake the powerful A’s of the time, then just about any team can swoop in and take it all.
Comrade Tipsy McStagger
I like this idea. Maybe if they shortened the season to 160 games it wouldn’t extend the season quite so much.
Kemajic
154
giants number 1 fan
Somebody please make Manfred go away. Stop screwing up the game!!
dartvard
Vince McMahon.
toastyroasty
Bush league reality show BS
the guru
trying to make the MLB like the WWE, i mean the NBA. This Manfred has got to go. From the NBA lottery draft selction thats fixed, to the story lines thats fabricated, the refs gambling on every game, it looks like manfred is going to ruin MLB now too. SAD
Its the new WWE folks. so sad.
richard dangler
I don’t understand why mlb, nba, nfl are trying to make radical changes. The fact that these changes are even being discussed is a clear indication that the leagues don’t listen to the fans and don’t give a F..K what the fans think.
Bart Harley Jarvis
I’m currently calculating the launch angle and exit velocity of my interest in MLB…
MarlinsFanBase
What’s your WAR interest?
Bart Harley Jarvis
Thank you, MarlinsFanBase for asking. Please clarify your request: dWAR, fWAR, or oWAR?
MarlinsFanBase
I don’t know. Too many WARs to go around. Can we invent iWAR (Interest Won Above Replacement)?
Kemajic
The game’s fWAR will take a dive.
MarlinsFanBase
Yep, and it will no longer be a homerun…and probably would have to cancel things like it’s RBI.
Bart Harley Jarvis
I appreciate you taking the time to respond, and for your support. Namaste.
lennyleonardseye
Don’t do this.
the guru
Manfred needs to resign. He’s a failure.
its_happening
The gig pays well. Really tough to walk away from that kind of salary.
krinks 2
Anything to get rid of the horrific wild card game.
tymeslayer
20 years a season ticket holder and have watched them slowly take away the game I grew up loving. I’ve already moved on from all the other money hungry, highly deluded sports like the NBA, NHL and NFL. Maybe we should hand out participation trophies to all those that play, no matter how well. Tyme to walk away. When you tinker with something so much it no longer exists as it once was. Goodbye National Pastime.
MarlinsFanBase
I can agree with some of this. Funny thing, nobody has mentioned the part of baseball being about rhythm and momentum, so would a top seeded team really want to be shut down for nearly a week while the lower seeds are staying sharp with actual play.
The only way I see any top seed benefiting from a bye would be in years when that top seed has a lot of players hurting and fatigued at the end of the regular season. Other than that, you want to keep sharp by playing.
BigFred
No. Just no.
theroyal19
Expansion to 32 teams. Re-align to reduce travel and introduce universal DH.
Playoffs move to NFL-like format with 6 teams. Top 2 records getting 1st round byes and 2 wild card teams as #5 and #6. 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5 in the first round
JustCheckingIn
I’d rather just make it 3 7 game series.
The nba shows the “teams won’t tank” mentality is BS. The elite get the stars and the rest hover at 500 hoping to play the 1 seed
No thanks
HALfromVA
Pick your opponent? Selection show? Sounds like something the XFL would do, not MLB. Stupid.
MarlinsFanBase
Exactly. Now teams will start firing execs for picking an opponent that beats them.
Imagine being the exec that picks different opponents that you lose to three years in a row. Won’t matter if you build a super team. You’ll get fired for picking the wrong opponent and not finishing as the #1 seed.
MetsFan22
Good thing marlins won’t ever have to worry about that lol
jdolan74
Love this.
In the AL the Astros would have gotten a bye and the Yankees would have hosted the Red Sox (awesome), the Twins would have hosted the Indians (very cool), and the A’s would have hosted the Rays.
In the NL, the Dodgers would have gotten that bye, and the Braves would have hosted the D’backs, the Nationals would have hosted the Mets, and the Nationals would have hosted the Cardinals.
All of those teams had above .500 records and it’s literally just two extra games and eliminates the very stupid 1-game playoff.
Hope this gets done for the 2021 season!
DTD_ATL
Absolutely insane and asinine. Stop changing the greatest game in the history of sports.
astrostrashcan
Why cant things just go unchanged. Soon every team will get a participation trophy and everyone will get a pat on the butt. What a joke MLB has become the last 10 years.
Rsox
Has Manfred been watching BASEket Ball?
danielking
Imagine playing a massive sample size of 162 games to largely wash out statistical quirks, only to have the season come down to a best-of-3 tiny sample size where your best hitters could conceivably see 6 PAs.
Acuña Matata
Couldn’t they just put every team in the playoffs in April. Win a game advance until theres one team at the top of the mountain.
Because what theyre proposing now makes 162 game season pointless.
3Men&ABibee
Seems to be the first step for expansion in the future
some guy 2
Awful. Why have 162 regular season games then? If they want more games/revenue, why not consider what FIFA does and have a champions league during the season?
Acuña Matata
Then they need to open it up to international baseball leagues to make it something similar to Champions League.
KBO, JBL, MLB playing a 12 team system that runs for 2 months in the season. It would work but the MLB would need to then reduce the number of games to compensate. This is where Manfred can find his additional revenue hes looking for
some guy 2
Yes, exactly. Reduce regular season games and introduce an in-season tourney like the champions league. Would have to imagine the TV ratings/ticket sales would be better for a Yankees -Yomiuri Giants Champions League game than another early-August slog against the Orioles.
Jordowith
Well hell with this idea and the DH being in both league’s might as well just do top 8 in both respected leagues like the NBA and nhl do not suggesting they do that but if they did obviously shorten the season and not every series go 7 games
bobsugar84
This is why the nba has load management, because the regular season barely matters anymore. Yes you may benefit by garnering more home games in the playoffs or even a bye under the new system, but good teams know they will get in anyway. It cheapens regular season games when too many teams get into the playoffs. It’s all bad. Bad idea.
kyredsox17
Maybe change the play in game to a 3 game series? 7 games for all other rounds? This just seems wild. The selection show can’t be real lol.
Cardsfanatik redux
Can we get rid of the morons making these types of decisions? Why do we want baseball to be like every other garbage sport? I wish Manfred would walk in front of a bus.
bennygb07
If MLB thinks that tanking is a solution so that a team can get the best possible draft pick the following year and that is why teams cut pay roll and are bad for multiple seasons, then baseball has a way bigger issue. MLB needs to do some serious self reflection on what the real problem in baseball is in regards to the financial structure, and how it is going to get WAY WORSE before it gets better if the financial model does not change.
MarlinsFanBase
Bingo! Someone sees it!
No team sports league should have a differential between the highest payroll team and the lowest payroll team that exceeds $100 million…or even $50 million for that matter.
Payroll differential is a much bigger problem than tanking. It’s the root of the problem that leads to tanking for so many franchises.
Sadler
Has there been a person that has single-handedly done more to ruin this great game than Robert Manfred?
MarlinsFanBase
Bud Selig tried really hard.
8ManLineupNoPitcherNoDH
Moron Manfred confirmed
miltpappas
Just a plot to garner more revenue and get fans of .480 teams hearts to go pitter-patter in hopes their beloved squad makes the post-season. NHL/NBA here we come.
beyou02215
Don’t like this at all.
UhOh!
No Team left behind!
kiddhoff
Yes!Yes!Yes! I’d love to see teams with losing records make the playoffs. Also, please make the bats and balls bigger, and use a pitching machine that throws only 92 mph fastballs right down the middle. Increase the number of fielders from 9 to 12.All spectacular ideas
shortytallz
Baseball clearly wants to become the 5th best sport in America.
its_happening
If Game 162 happens on a Sunday and Games 1-3 happen Monday-Wednesday with Game 1 against the #1 seed happening on the Thursday, I like this idea. Those who don’t nab the #1 seed should not be given a chance to relax until after round 1 – unless you draw the top team. That’s how it should be with the two wild card teams.
Only time they shouldn’t do that is for a tiebreaking game. Then use Monday for that game, then go all out starting on the Tuesday. Forces some teams to do whatever they can to play for the 1-seed.
Daver520
Greedy greedy Greedy !!!!! That is all
CIVIoney
I’d like to see a poll done on this…
Super trashy of mlb to consider 🙁
rcc17
I have seen a lot of MLB Commissioners In my 85 years. Selig was as crooked as any politician! Manfried = Stupid Is, Stupid Does! He is destroying baseball with his nimwit ideas!
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
They should just do the WBC every other 2 years instead of 4 years. Or whatever it is. Hopefully this time Puerto Rica isnt screwed. They wanted team USA to win in the worst way.
empirejim
MLB commish without the huevos to do what’s needed regarding the Astros and then deciding that ANOTHER tier of playoffs is a good idea. Lack of leadership isn’t just an Astros issue I guess. Better tell him to buy snow-shoes for the teams……
Rsox
The only way this actually works is to do away with AL/NL and just have Eastern and Western Conferences like the NBA and NHL. Let the home team decide if a DH or pitcher hits in the game and continue the path to turning MLB into an arcade game.
braves2
Baseball in 2022:
: So, if the Beers beat Detroit and Denver beats Atlanta in the American Southwestern Division East Northern, then Milwaukee goes to the Denslow Cup, unless Baltimore can upset Buffalo and Charlotte ties Toronto, then Oakland would play LA and Pittsburgh in a blind choice round robin. And if no clear winner emerges from all of this, the two-man sack race will be held on consecutive Sundays until a champion can be crowned.
Rangers29
3 teams per southwester east division, 2 teams per northwestern lateral division, and 8 teams in the N.L Central… still no dh
Jordowith
If Manfred has some secret deal with Vince McMahon (owner of the wwe and xfl) and changes it from MLB to XBL then this sounds like an xbl idea
nymetsking
Manfred, let’s just cut the BS and go with a 30 team playoff
Rangers29
Sounds fair, and not as hard to figure out. lol
Eatdust666
Funny, because the team with the first overall pick would get in even if that team loses over 100 games lol.
empirejim
Does Manfred realize he’s the MLB commish, and NOT the NBA??????
Chasingamymatt
Just…no. Balanced scedule of 158 games, No divisions, Top 4 go through 1 plays 4. Failing that just make the WC game best of 3.. This must be a wind up it sounds so ridiculous
Dorothy_Mantooth
A 3-game series in the first round is a bad idea. Also, why would they play all 3 in the same stadium? I don’t like this idea at all, as any team can get lucky and win 2 games. Also, baseball is a game of momentum. While it is nice to get a couple of days off, the best team in baseball will be inactive for at least 5 days at the start of the playoffs and could easily get rusty or cold while sitting on the sidelines. If they want to get another playoff team in, add an extra Wild Card team. The best WC team would get a ‘bye’ and play the winner of the first WC team in the traditional one game playoff matchup. It would create a large incentive for WC teams to have the best record as they could, in theory, pitch their #1 starter against the winning team’s #2 starter (assuming they pitched their #1 in their play-in game). Revenues will be about the same as the full Round 1 of the playoffs would still have 5 games, versus the proposed best of 3, all in the same stadium. And getting to pick your opponent is ridiculous as well. I really hope this doesn’t happen.
heater
Other than the playoff being watered down it would make late season more interesting to the casual fan.
On the length of season and playoffs they could trim days in the playoffs by starting each series for both leagues on the same day with no off days until series is over instead of dragging everything out now. Water them down with more teams then make it more challenging to make it to the end.
nats3256
I just read on ESPN they will let teams pick who they play against!!! what is this?!?!
Appalachian_Outlaw
This idea is dripping in stupidity. I’d try to put it into words, but I don’t even know where to begin. Those billionaires don’t make enough money already off the backs of the players, and us, as fans? If they do this, I’m out.
californiaangels
I’m in.
Jordowith
So are we gonna see rock paper scissors to see who gets first pick?
Rsox
Roshambo contests
Rsox
Coming in 2022: Actual MLB is replaced by MLB the Show. Teams will sell out stadiums as people come to watch a teams franchise mode on the giant scoreboards.
tristpa2
This feels like a fever dream.
2012orioles
How about start with no blackout restrictions on mlbtv. If you want to grow the game and make it more appealing, make it more accessible.
differentbears
No kidding. If you paid to watch games, let people watch games.
Appalachian_Outlaw
That’d be intelligent, which means they’ll never do it. Greed reigns supreme.
TheLawAbides
That would increase the price of mlb.tv. They’ve already made it more accessible with games on Facebook and YouTube
bravesfan
I’m not a fan. Too much going on, too many teams on the playoffs, makes making the playoffs less meaningful. Idk. I kinda prefer the old way, 1 wildcard team end of story. :/
Colorado Red
Stupid idea. Do not need anymore playoff teams.
1738hotlinebling
Is manfred really that big of a simp just let owners run him down like this , at least selig has balls and didn’t approve of juicing them either
George Ruth
Don’t give King Bud Selig too much credit because he was an owner of an MLB team & his family owned the team all through the years King Bud played commissioner & they still own the team now & that very same team has a 2 time caught P E D user
Rallyshirt
Just put it to a vote, already. This is simple stuff, really simple.
RadioPirate
No!!! Make them stop!!! Why does Rob Manfred hate baseball?
normanbates
Worst idea ever.
opranger
Such BS! A bad idea and I also hate the wildcard teams!
FishyHalo
It’ll make the post season less meaningful.
Li don’t like how the nba has half their league in the playoffs but here we are.
Tazbk
Dumbest idea ever
Just_a_thought
Here’s an equally good idea, pick the playoff teams out of a hat and have a magic bunny pick the WS winner ahead of the regular season and then make the teams play 200 spring training games. I’m sure this will keep the fans interested. Get it done, Manfred
everlastingdave
This reminds me of when I saw the Marlins rebrand for 2012. At first I thought it was a weird dream, then I thought it was the work of trolls, then I got bummed because someone actually thought it was a good idea. This is worse than the 2012 Marlins.
basquiat
Why not look like the NFL where 60% of the players are unrecognizable?
Dumpster Divin Theo
Sheesh. How bout make it like high school basketball. Let all the teams in. Single elimination March madness bracket
CaptainHooks
Why not SKIP the Post Season, and give everyone a Participation Awards?
Perhaps skip the season as well, and we could all take up fishing.
CrikesAlready
Greta Thunberg is pissed off.
More games, more jet flights. Baby seals are dying every time you charge your iPhone.
She’s going to “line them (the owners) up against the wall.”
MoRivera 1999
Stupid smelly political turd in the pool. Brilliant.
BuckarooBanzai
What you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard.
At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought.
Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it.
I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Flharfh
” the top three non-bye playoff teams would select their first-round opponents”
Logging in for the first time in a long time to say that this is probably the stupidest idea associated with professional sports that I’ve heard.
turner9
Seems like an overwhelming NO vote
I think I would enjoy a new format, the “purity” of the game got tainted in the McGuire/Sosa era.
Might as well try something that benefits the fans some more
More meaningful sept baseball
So what if a 500 team KOs a top seed.
Makes for exciting play.
#8 rarely beats #1 in any sports playoff , this is only 7. #1 on both sides get a buy anyway.
Relax people
Clemens_Killed_Wonderbat
Oy vey. I’m a 38 year-old lifelong fan and the current playoff format is the best I’ve seen. It makes late season games more tense than they used to be and often the talent difference between a wild card and a division winner is razor thin. This new proposed format would inflate middling teams, putting them into lopsided playoff games. It’s also more convoluted and comes off as a poor attempt to ape other sports’ postseason formats. I think all this will weaken ratings and hurt the sport. Manfred can’t be gone soon enough!
thetruth 2
How about this: no divisions and 3 top teams in each league make the playoffs. Bottom 2 play a best of 5 series and then play the top team in each league in an LCS and then WS.
Lovinmlb
The top 3 teams have a week or 2 to go on vacation, play some golf then have to have a couple expedition games to get sharp enough to play the wild card winners. I like it.
jeppeson
old school. liked it better when each league had 8 teams, no playoffs, and the best were in the WS. Damn, I’m old.
HubcapDiamondStarHalo
So, who is the guess for the first baseball player to earn the nickname “Mr. December?”
timyanks
two leagues
each team plays each other 5 times
2 road/3 home, rotate each year
145 game season
top 6 in each league make playoffs
stan lee the manly
Manfred just seems hellbent on changing the game no matter how much the traditionalists don’t want it. He is ostracizing his biggest and most loyal fan base to make the game as much like basketball and football as he can, but it will never work because it will always be a slower game. So he’s losing the people that love the game and gaining no one.
Bravescj10
I don’t know if I’m missing something but I’m pretty sure there are currently 10 postseason teams. Adding 2 more means 12 total not 14. So does that mean adding a league like the nba. 8 division winners and 4 wildcards???
MoRivera 1999
2 more teams in EACH LEAGUE. Hence 10 becomes 14. Of 30. Nearly half.
Dorothy_Mantooth
Correct. They are talking about adding two more wildcard teams to both the AL and NL (so 4 total wild cards per league). The division winner with the best overall record would get a bye and the other 2 division winners, along with the best wild card team would get 3 home games in Round 1 and would get to select the opponent they want to play, rather than go by regular season records. So 14 playoff teams per league and yes, Manfred is trying to ruin the history of baseball.
sbpaco
Very torn in my immediate reaction. Adding playoff teams would definitely retain people’s attention throughout an entire season. The NBA argument makes little sense considering it’s currently a higher rated product in terms of audience (and I’m not even a fan of the NBA so there’s barely a reason for me to be biased). MLB has a lot more catching up to do in terms of marketing and grassroots promotion of the game but that’s a totally different topic at hand. In terms of this format, 2 concerns come to mind:
1) The midseason trade deadline would be diluted and borderline useless if the vast majority of teams see themselves in contention. If that’s the case, it would be much harder for bottom dwelling teams to rebuild.
2) This information doesn’t say much about how it would affect the length of a regular season but if it stays the same, it would surely place more strain on pitchers. It sounds minuscule but playing a more extended season on a yearly basis could have a long term effect.
Overall, we still need more details before jumping to conclusions. Hard headed old schoolers are definitely not pleased.
MoRivera 1999
There are plenty of details to come to conclusions. This plan further dilutes the significance of the 162 game season and further increases the chance that an otherwise slightly above middling team is crowned champion. Neither of which is a good thing.
sbpaco
You just assumed it would stay a 162 game season so already that’s a detail we’re missing. Secondly, a middling team winning a championship is terrible…if you’re a Yankees, Dodgers, Astros, or Red Sox fan. It’s hard to imagine a fan of any team in the AL/NL Central being upset that their playoff hopes are increased.
MoRivera 1999
Where does it say it won’t be a 162 game season. You’re making up a new change that hasn’t been handed down. Pretty much everyone on here hates these changes so I’d say you’re dead wrong.
sbpaco
Lol dude look at my first post. Most of my comments were a criticism. All I said was I’m on the fence and need more info. I’m wrong to want more information?
theredsoxrule
i got the solution lol First eliminate the 3 divisions in each league to just have the American and National, Next top 7 each league make playoffs 1st place gets 1st round bye others play best 2 out of 3 with all 3 games played at the 2nd-4th place teams field, Next either eliminate interleague play OR make the National league use the DH, Next shorten season to 140 games playing each team 10 times oh and then start paying players minimum wage to start so about 20k per yr and give them a small raise each year like the real world…
Dorothy_Mantooth
One thing is certain here. The owners will never agree to shorten the season, unless every team makes the playoffs. The 162 game schedule, tv deals, revenue sharing and CBT penalties assure every owner they will be profitable every year. No way they shorten the regular season unless the players agree to reduce their salaries by the percentage of games eliminated and we all know that will never happen!
They beauty of baseball is that they play all these regular season games and teams can miss making the playoffs by one game at the end of a marathon season. If they expand the # of playoff teams, this gets watered down badly. While I’m not a fan of the current wild card setup, at least the WC teams are ‘penalized’ for not winning their division by being forced to play a one game, ‘play-in’ contest, just to get into the first round of playoffs. Under these new rules not only will there be more playoff teams but every WC team is guaranteed a full round 1 playoff series, making the regular season and winning the division much less important. Not a fan at all.
Noodle23
I dont understand all the backlash. More teams in the playoffs leads to more competitive and interesting games in September, which is what we all want.
MoRivera 1999
What we want is a 162 game schedule that matters. We don’t want half the teams in the playoffs. We don’t want slightly above middling teams being crowned champion. If you don’t understand what the backlash is about, read the comments. It’s all in there. You’ll find out you don’t represent “what we all want.” You must have a crappy team.
Noodle23
I suppose I just disagree with the notion that the regular season would be diluted. March madness is the greatest sports tournament because a team that had a mediocre regular season can get hot and win a championship. With expansion the best teams still have the greater opportunity to win but now more teams also have an opportunity.
MoRivera 1999
There’s nothing to just “disagree with.” By letting more teams in you are absolutely, undeniably, irrefutably diluting the 162 game season. It becomes less meaningful as a separator of wheat from chaff.
MoRivera 1999
March Madness is a horrible analogy. You are talking 64 postseason teams from thousands. In this scenario we are talking 14 from 30. Wrap your head around that. Talk about devaluing the season. What’s the point of even having it? Just have a freaking tournament.
Noodle23
How many D1 basketball teams do you think there are lol? Seeding matters, getting a bye is a huge advantage as well as choosing your first round opponent and having home field advantage. I do think the regular season needs to be shortened by about 30 games however.
MoRivera 1999
The odds are still far greater for 14 of 30. FAR. Stop arguing. You are completely ignoring the fact that much of the fascination of baseball comes from statistical analysis and comparison across the history of the sport. All of that goes out the window. Winning a WS becomes almost meaningless when it’s so unlikely. Lose 30 games? There goes comparing a season’s worth of accomplishments with those in history…
You are hopelessly out of tune with all the MLBTR commenters.
Noodle23
I’m not arguing I’m expressing my opinion. I’m not saying anyone is wrong I’m simply disagreeing. This expansion is gonna happen eventually so you should probably start to rationalize and accept it.
MoRivera 1999
Yeah if so I’ve got better things to do. I dropped the NBA and NFL decades ago, so… I have no intention of following a meaningless 162 game, six month season, only to watch a bunch of average teams try to win it all in one month of glory. No thanks. Lot of good books to read out there.
sbpaco
Why do you keep insisting that the 162 game season is still going to exist? Where does it say that?
MoRivera 1999
Where does it say that the 162 game season is going away? Are you making up changes that haven’t been stipulated? I’m also saying there will continue to be three divisions in each of two leagues, because no one has said there won’t be.
wordonthestreet
Agree with Noodle
MoRivera 1999
What, that you want all the teams in the postseason? Rehash the entire season? Well, you’re way in the minority. Maybe you are noodle, because he’s pretty much alone.
sbpaco
We better start agreeing with Mo before he falls into a mania
DonC.
Maybe they could play some t-ball games to save the pitchers arms,then they could play computer generated games to give everyone a rest,Gabe Kapler could be commissioner for these games.
Buhler02
With the first 7 months out of the way,
the play-off picture is now emerging:
With last night’s victory over Boston
the Beers must beat Indianapolis
to advance to Charlotte,
then to the National Eastern
Division North to play Tampa.
If the Beers beat Detroit
and Denver beats Atlanta
in the S.W. Division East Northern,
then Milwaukee goes to the Denslow Cup,
unless Baltimore upsets Buffalo
and Charlotte ties Toronto.
Then Oakland would play L.A.
And Pittsburgh.
If no clear winner emerges,
a two-man sack race will be held
till a champion is crowned.
The Oregonian
Why mess with it now? Wait until expansion happens.
jaytibbs
Screw you Rob Manfred. Let’s go get Bus Selig out of the retirement home and make him commissioner again. Selig made his own mistakes and has his flaws, but at least he loves the game. His heart is in the right place. Manfred only cares about the almighty dollar.
Marius
Ridiculous. I hate the first round where one team gets no home games. Playoff baseball, even just one game at home, is a source of revenue for clubs.
wordonthestreet
It cannot be done in the new format. To have 2 games and one at another city means travel for players and a day off for travel which extends the post season. It just will not work
Bart Harley Jarvis
I think he’s onto something here, but Manfred can do better. How’s about the top three non-bye playoff teams selecting their first-round opponents, AND selecting the starting lineups and starting pitchers of said opponents?
ryanw-2
Under this format, the 2017 Angels and Royals would’ve had the 3rd and 4th playoff spots in the AL at 80-82. In fact the Angels would’ve made the playoffs in 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2017. How do we define contention then? Because the Angels have been heavily criticized with Mike Trout. But then playoff formats change and suddenly an 85-77 third place Angels team in 2015 is playing in October. The Cardinals streak of playoff success has been largely due to the WC system. So what is contention if you add 4 more playoff teams? I’m not against it. Just wondering everyone’s take.
giants number 1 fan
Fire Manfred
MannyPineappleExpress9
Let’s also realign teams, create a new league in addition to the AL & NL (how about the Federal League), with no more than 3 teams in any division, and no teams within reasonable driving distance (for fans) can be in the same division.
Then, stagger when each league begins its season by 2 weeks and be sure all the earliest games are as far north as possible, in cities with outdoor stadiums!
beerman
Well sounds like the Orioles and Tigers will have a fighting chance for a playoff now..
MoRivera 1999
And some people here actually think that’s a good thing!
kiddhoff
Well, with this news added to NL DH talk, 3 batter minimum, and the Dodgers and Yankees literally buying their way to the World Series, I have just cancelled my MLBTv subscription. No need to pay them when I’m opposed to all of these needless changes.
Whifff
Fact Check:
* Yes, many NBA teams make the playoffs. Yet the best teams are usually the ones still playing in the end.
* This will be a bonanza for the players. A few extra teams like the White Sox are trying to win now and look at the difference in free agency this year. With 14 teams having a chance free agency will be fierce.
* If you think tanking sucks then this offers a solution. Less teams will tank with post season play more readily attainable.
* September baseball really sucks in a lot of cities. This makes more cities and thus September baseball more relevant.
Happy to be your truth detector.
MoRivera 1999
Most people agree, the NBA postseason sucks. There’s your truth. Are you Noodle? wordonthestreet?
Why not have 20 teams in the postseason? Then September would really be relevant!
brewcrewenthusiast
manfred makes me want to punch him and/or myself in the face
No Soup For Yu!
So from what cursory research I’ve done, only the owners, who we all know to be money grubbing leeches, have the power to remove Manfred from the commissioner’s role, while all of Manfred’s moves, including this one, are more or less aimed at boosting revenue for the sport and the teams. In other words, Manfred is going to be in power for a long time and basically has carte blanche to butcher the game as much as the owners want him to. We’re screwed.
Clemens_Killed_Wonderbat
He’s bad, but he’s not Teflon, and he seems weaker than when they put him in. The owners know fans despise him and he ticked off NYC & LA by screwing up the Astros punishments. He’s terrible in the spotlight, and if owners think he’s alienating too many wallets, he’s gone.
Dorothy_Mantooth
But MLB has the strongest player union out of all professional sports. None of this gets done without their approval and the only way they approve this is if they see a sizable increase in pay for making the playoffs.
Please don’t do this and ruin the baseball tradition. The one sport left where the regular season actually means something!
wakejeff
If you think “load management” is bad in the NBA, wait until MLB has 14 teams in the playoffs. Suppose you have, for example, one team in a league that’s on pace for 103 wins. Then, you have a couple of other teams that are on pace for 90-93 wins. Those two teams have almost no chance to get the bye, so they’ll be resting players like crazy in September, because the difference between a #2 seed and a #7 seed is nothing more than home field advantage. It’s gonna hurt the game. I like the NBA overall, but the regular season can’t end fast enough! It’d be a shame if MLB was the same.
Lovinmlb
This will tell you what owners think of the fans. A vast majority of fans hate this so if they do it then well. Will teams tank not to be the number 1 seed? A lot of time off isn’t good and on top of that they could get the revenue of 2 or 3 home games. They seem to have the perfect amount of teams right now. Only having 2 teams nl vs al wouldn’t be too interesting, surprised it lasted so long. Today with huge tv revenue and free agency we would see a lot of Yankees Dodgers world series. 4 teams each league was perfect, but why should a non division winner just go right to playoffs, so a extra wild card team makes since. No more though. Don’t need .500 teams in post season. Make the Division series 7 games. Even have the wild card a 3 game series but no rest, can’t punish division winners with 5 days off. Wild card Monday Tuesday Wednesday then Division series starts Thursday. They didn’t win a division so they are just lucky to be there. I guess people still go to NBA NHL games, I don’t know why. Penguins Capitols are going to be in the playoffs. 1 seed 8 seed doesn’t matter not much advantage to worry about. These NBA super teams are in, regular season doesn’t matter. I guess fans of crap teams can attend games to be like look it’s LeBron. Wasn’t that awesome how he laid 40 on us. Wow!
But MLB will be like the rest. Regular season attendance won’t go down and they will make a lot more money. Everyone on here will complain but will keep going to games. How many people actually attend games on here? Casual fans are ones who go to games they will be excited. We are only 3 games back for the 13th wild card spot, gonna be terrible if we don’t make the playoffs this year. Won 79 games and no post season. They need to have more playoff spots.
sf2win
While we’re adding games, how about we subtract the ability to access the postseason by proven cheaters? At least for a year.
pappyvw
This sounds absolutely horrible. I’m usually critical of Bauer for publicly shooting his mouth off, but not this time – he’s right – total garbage idea.
Bone19
This is a terrible idea. The baseball of my youth, my fathers youth, my grand fathers and so on, is being destroyed. I’m incredibly saddened I won’t be able to share the same game with my sons.
RIP MLB. Mechanical Umps, pitch clocks, overly focused on analytics, home plate collision changes, 2nd wild card, and now this?
Literally ripping the heart and soul of the game and replacing it with a mechanical feel that only desires money.
RIP MLB
findingnimmo
That’s a bit much. While maybe half of what u say is in my opinion correct, the other half has tried to make the game more relevant to the fans of the current generation. The game has to evolve with society and for the most part it has in an ok way, but the computer strike/ball calls is a bit much, some of the replay rules is not the best, but most of all, making the playoffs anything with more teams than now will ruin the game. I am fine with the pseudo two wild card spots. Anything more will be taking away from the accomplishments of actually making the playoffs.
SFGiantsGallore
Oh gawd. I’m still trying to get used to MLB adding the wild card teams from 1994
SFGiantsGallore
Oh gawd. I’m still trying to get used to MLB adding the wild card teams from 1994
jim stem
More teams in the playoff hunt creates more people tuned in watching late in the season. It’s about tv ratings and trying to get people to watch after July 4th. It’s about sponsor fees and superstation packaging. It’s about pushing for mediocrity (.500) and trying to convince the fan base that their team is ‘so close’ to competing. It’s about performance clauses in contracts and shutting down players ‘to save them’ for the post season. It’s about fans shelling out big money to take their family to games hoping to see the best players on the field only to find out they are getting the day off.
End al vs. nl scheduling after the all star break.
Final month of the season games should all played against teams in the same division.
Stop “rewarding” teams for low payrolls and poor on field performance.
Initiate a full salary minimum and maximum salary cap.
Speed up games by not allowing batters to step out of the box after after every pitch.
Initiate an actual game clock like every other major team sport. The official game ends after 2 hours 30 minutes regardless of the inning. If it’s tied at that point, international rules apply until the tie is broken. Having coached tournament softball for 10 years, let me tell you that there is no comparison in the energy level and pace of play. We contested 7 inning games in 75 minutes. The clock was a major factor in how you managed and how important getting on and off the field became.
Bring back double headers for make up games. It’s ridiculous for a team to travel from ny to Seattle for a two game series then to Texas.
There is simply no need to try and get MORE teams into the post season. Either you are good enough or you aren’t. The teams that aren’t good enough don’t deserve a participation trophy, they need better formulas to achieve success. I’m sick of hearing how small market teams can’t compete. With baseball tv packages, commercial revenue and ticket sales, if you can’t afford a team, sell it or move it. You know makes money? Winning! You know loses money? Lack of interest due to an inferior product. Why don’t the Orioles, Marlins, Royals, Padres etc compete? Because they have made bad business decisions, poor marketing, bad players, bad management, bad drafts or made bad trades, not because they are ‘small market’ teams.
What did the weak teams of 2019 do to better themselves? The teams that haven’t even tried to get better don’t deserve more of a chance to win the World Series.
Play ball, and may the better team win today.
timyanks
divisional baseball needs to be eliminated.
Jelvisdela
Manfred better tread carefully here.
Its gonna be a lot harder to unjuice this proposal than it was the actual baseball during the 2019 regular season.
And as others have said, I really don’t foresee the players union going for this whatsoever.
Not to mention throwing this on top of the expiring CBA jn 2021? We might be 12 to 18 months without baseball given the direction that conversation (or lack thereof) is heading.
Utterly nonsensical.
titanic struggle
More “brilliant” suggestions from Manfred the Meddler… Leave our game alone!
Lanidrac
No, MLB should not have nearly half the teams making the playoffs! That creates the same problem they have in the NBA and NHL, where it’s much too likely that a team (or more) makes the playoffs with a losing record.
SoCalBrave
is today April 1st?
$crewBaLL
Lets just give all the loser there participation trophy while we’re at
………The wild Card Games gets a wild Card game ? Lmfao
dmarcus15
MLB stop line the teams up by their records damn how hard is that!
dmarcus15
How about letting the team with the worst record play with 10 fielders WTF MLB!
Eatdust666
They might as well have 16 teams make the playoffs, just like the NBA, so there could be some teams with losing records to get in lmao.
mike156
14 teams after a 162 game season….what garbage. Other than being about the dollar, how does this improve the game?
Eatdust666
It doesn’t improve the game in any other way at all other than the losing team not going home after one game.
hyraxwithaflamethrower
The article mentions the potential improvements, namely that tanking would be less desirable because it’s easier to make the playoffs, so complete rebuilds would rarely be seen as necessary. It’s possible that would be an outcome, but the NBA has “no-man’s land”, which is the 8th seed in the playoffs. You’re likely to get demolished in the first round and you can’t get a high draft pick, so you’re probably stuck where you are until you either spend big or tank for a couple years. The same would probably happen in baseball, but with the slight improvement that drafting is more of a crapshoot in baseball, making it more likely to get out of there without making major changes.
TheLawAbides
Why not instead get rid of the DH and don’t let the pitcher bat? Now you have 8-man lineups and everyone gets more at bats per game, more home runs, hits, RBIs at the end of the season.
Also why stop at the 3 batter rule for relievers? Now starting pitchers must pitch at least 5 innings, sorry Ray’s fans your opener idea wasn’t popular.
Marius
The union will shut that proposal down in a nano second. Your proposal is taking away major league players from the game by shortening it from 9 to 8 players in the lineup. Not happening
wordonthestreet
Forcing 5 innings on a starter is just plain silly. Cannot believe you even suggested it.
Baseball has nine players so nine batters period. The pitcher bats or go with the DH.
There are good hitting DH’s so eliminating the DH or 9th hitter does not increase offense.
Also the DH spot is used often as a shared role and way to keep bench hitters fresh and their timing down.
TheLawAbides
My point is half the fans don’t want to see a pitcher take an at bat (the wrong ones) and the other half don’t want to see someone that does nothing but swing a bat. Get rid of the both and give your top of the lineup at least an extra at bat every game. My point on the pitchers i think 3 batter minimum for relievers is dumb also mound visits stupid. Starters need 5 innings to qualify for the win so if relievers need to face certain amount of batters why not starters?
hyraxwithaflamethrower
One of the things I’ve always loved about baseball is how relatively difficult it is to make it to the playoffs. While I like the idea of picking your opponent, I don’t like the idea of adding more teams. It would make the playoffs drag on longer and cheapen what it means to be a playoff team. Why not just have the top seed pick their opponent after the play-in game? They can pick any of the other three teams remaining in their league. A good incentive to finish first overall and not all wins are created equal. 95 wins in a strong division could be the same strength team as a 100-game winner in a weak division.
brockswipessecond
Why stop there? Do away with leagues, put all the teams together, and make the whole season playoffs. Conduct a random drawing at the beginning of the year for seeding. Manfred is an idiot.
Gtfdrussell
This may help curb tanking, but it also encourages owners like my Indians to continue to cut payroll. Last year Cleveland won 93 games and missed the playoffs. Payroll was around $120 million. So far this year, they’re around $100 million. If they get in the playoffs with $120 million, why not try $100 million. If they get in with $100 million, why not $90 million.
Under these rules, I would expect Cleveland to get in the playoffs every year, but never win. At least with the current system (or drop the 2nd WC team, if I had my way), they MAY be tempted to spend a little more while they have Lindor under a friendly contract (even though the Dolans are proving me wrong on that right now).
timyanks
it’s time to start a new baseball league, for the purists.
Iknowmorebaseball
Stupid! A bye is absolutely a disadvantage to division winners. Imagine the division winners getting cold waiting around while other teams are playing three game series and then the winners of that miniseries come in hot to play a cold team. Just had one team pearly and create 4 games per league division series and then have division winners the privilege of hosting all games at home and picking which opponents they will play.
larry48
If you want to fix baseball the NL and AL should be a balanced schedule. Too many divisions have 2 or 3 teams under 500. Other divisions beat each other up so division lead is miss leading and nor fair,