In a shocking developement, Major League Baseball has announced that there will be expanded playoffs after all.. not for 2022.. not for 2021.. but for THIS SEASON. This announcement came on Opening Day 2020 and sent a flurry of emotions through the fanbase including both joy and dismay.
Before getting into the details of the new playoff format, I will give my opinion - I have never been for expanding the playoffs to the point that more teams make the playoffs than don’t. That is something that would be unacceptable for me in a 162-game season. Teams don’t fight for 162 games to get into a playoff system that requires them to then win 4 or 5 more playoff series in order to take home a ring. If you earn a playoff spot in a 162 game season, it should be a coveted spot that only the top teams in the league have earned.
However, because this season is a shortened 60-game season, things are different. I am actually fine with expanding the playoffs for this season only. My biggest fear is that Major League Baseball will take advantage of good TV ratings or a positive experience this year and use that to convince the MLBPA to continue this type of playoff format.
If that does happen, hey - worse things have happened to baseball and I’ll stick with it as I’ve always done. But I won’t like it.
As for the 2020 MLB Playoffs -
SIXTEEN of the 30 MLB Teams will be in (more than half if you’re counting).
As in NBA Basketball, the #1 seed takes on the #8 seed, the #2 takes on the #7 and so on.
The first round is considered the WILD CARD series and every playoff team takes part - NO BYES
The Wild Card Round is a best of 3 series with ALL 3 GAMES at the higher seed’s ballpark
Division Series (best-of-five, with traditional 2-2-1 home/road format): Winner of 1-8 vs. Winner of 4-5; Winner of 2-7 vs. Winner of 3-6. Home-field advantage goes to the higher seed.
League Championship Series (best-of-seven, with traditional 2-3-2 home/road format): Winner of 1-4-5-8 vs. Winner of 2-3-6-7. Home-field advantage goes to the higher seed.
World Series (best-of-seven, with traditional 2-3-2 home/road format): AL champion vs. NL champion. Home-field advantage goes to the team with the superior regular-season record.
This is where we’re at for this season - it will be a wild ride and will be fun and exciting at times. Nevertheless, it’s not something I hope continues into 2021 and beyond.
The other factor of this that I’m not a fan of is the 3 games at home for the Wild Card series. I understand that if you’re lucky enough to sneak in to the playoffs, you have to beat the superior team at their home stadium in a best of 3 in order to prove yourself worthy of continuing on. However, I feel that if you’re deemed worthy of making the playoffs, you should have a relatively clean slate going in (other than the natural home field advantage assigned to the team with the better record). Any rule or regulation that removes fairness from the game is not ideal in my opinion, and that includes the horrendous runner starting at second in extra innings.
Well, baseball is moving onward and upwards, and we either have to get on the train or get off.. I’m staying on for now, but I don’t love these changes. Call me an old purirst, but when more than half the teams in the league make the playoffs (especially in a 162-game season), I have an issue. For this year though, I’ll enjoy it.. and I’ll enjoy the fact that it will keep teams like my favorite team (the Giants) in the race for longer.