Posted on 11/17/2011 4:42:02 PM PST by SMGFan
MILWAUKEE—Major League Baseball plans to revamp its divisions and playoff format with a series of moves that will have significant ramifications for at least two of its media partners and millions of fans. MLB hopes to begin some of the changes next season, with an additional wild-card team making the playoffs in each league as part of an effort to generate more television revenue for baseball and give fans of midtier teams a reason to continue buying tickets and following games through the entire season. The four wild-card teams will play a one-game or best-of-three playoff to determine who moves on to the divisional series.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
We’re going to need a bingo card to follow this mess.
An additional wild card team. Pretty soon, MLB will be like the NHL where 80 percent of the teams get into the playoffs. What’s the point of having a regular season?
More TV money - World Series in December?
Why don’t all the teams get to play in the playoffs and get a variable handicap depending on how crappy they are? It’s the new American way.
Get rid of the silly Designated Hitter.
And while you’re at it, get rid of inter league play.
Maybe they can play year round and have the world serious end by December 24.
“Get rid of the silly Designated Hitter.
And while you’re at it, get rid of inter league play.”
I agree.
Both, like homosexuality, are unnatural acts.
One day in the future, when the Twins play the Cubs in the WS...the ENTIRE WS will be will be wiped out by a blizzard that blankets the midwest..
They keep moving the World Series later into the fall and they can count on occasional snow-outs.
I like it. It puts the pressure on pitchers.
From a sporting standpoint, professional sports need fewer teams in the playoffs, not more. But since the objective of professional sports isn’t to win but rather to make money, I could see this coming.
From a sporting standpoint I have to laugh at the concept of a team that couldn’t win its division somehow becoming a ‘world champion’. Yet we see it repeatedly.
If they were smart, they would play fewer regular season games, back to say 150 per year.
And yes, inter-league play was harmful. Baseball was special, when the only time AL and NL got together was Allatars and World Series.
Then to have one league, one team dominate; makes baseball predictable and boring.
As an Astros fan, I can say today was an absolute kick in the gut. I would love to personally punch Bud Selig in the face.
Ever since the DH started almost 40 years ago, MLB has kept finding ways to screw things up even more. The solution to uneven numbers of teams is contraction.
And while you're at it, get rid of inter league play.
If they adopted the second of your ideas it would be essential to adopt the first. Otherwise the National League would have a huge advantage in the World Series.....American League pitchers would not have a clue.
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