Recently, Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated and Jayson Stark of ESPN were presenting an idea that would alter baseball's current postseason format. Both writers were crediting the idea to Steve Hirdt, of the Elias Sports Bureau, who originally suggested the notion. His concept is to add another Wild Card to the postseason, in order to spice up the races in each league. This idea is coming as a result of the lack of drama in the American League East, where both the Yankees and Rays are essentially assured of a postseason spot, whether it is via the Wild Card or by winning the division title.
Even though the postseason field would be expanded with this idea, the extra "round" would actually be just one game, a Wild Card Elimination game. The two teams with the two best second-place records would play a do-or-die elimination game immediately after the conclusion of the regular season, with the winner going on to play a division winner in the Division Series. Hypothetically speaking, if there was a "Wild Card Elimination Game" last year, it would have featured the Rangers playing the Red Sox in Boston and the Giants playing the Rockies in Colorado. This would also put the Wild Card team at a further disadvantage, since they would likely have to use their best starter in this play-in game, and would have to shuffle their rotation for the next round of postseason play. Also, since they would be the "Wild Card Champion," they would still not have home-field advantage in the Division Series or League Championship Series.
While this idea is certainly fresh and exciting, I can't help but to think how unfair it is. Let's take for example this year's American League race. How fair is it to Tampa Bay (who's roughly on pace to win 98 games) to have to face either the Red Sox or White Sox in an elimination game, despite the fact that they will probably finish with seven or eight more wins than either team? Tampa clearly would have shown that they were the better of the "Wild Card" teams, so why make them have to play their way in? Besides, if the Red Sox or White Sox wanted a fighting chance at a playoff spot, they should have played better in the first 162 games anyway.
Also, this just seems like a knee-jerk reaction to an otherwise lackluster postseason race in the American League. Really, how often is it that all four AL playoff spots are essentially wrapped up with two weeks left in the season? There's no shortage of drama in the National League right now, as the Braves, Phillies, Rockies, Giants and Padres are all battling for the last three playoff spots (the Reds, barring a monumental collapse, are essentially in). In fact, there's only a game and a half that separates first place from third in the NL West. Why would you need to artificially create more drama when it's already there to begin with?
Plus, I kind of like the exclusivity the MLB postseason brings. Only eight teams out of 30 get in. That means you are treated to great baseball more often than not when October rolls around. I wouldn't want to see the playoff field diluted with more teams getting in, even if it is for just one game, or a "best-of-three" series. Besides, why would you want to reward more teams for not finishing in first place? Making the playoffs should still be an accomplishment, not a free-for-all like the NBA or NHL, where 16 out of 30 teams make their way in with both leagues (I'm not saying that I don't like the NBA or NHL, I just don't like their bloated playoff field). It's still a special feeling watching your team celebrate when they make it in, and adding more teams to the mix kind of cheapens the accomplishment for me.
Perhaps the only change I would like to see in baseball's postseason is the one suggested by Angels' manager Mike Scioscia, who is also on Bud Selig's panel for on-field issues. His suggestion was to shorten the regular season by four games to 158, and make the Division Series a best-of-seven. This makes sense to me because the quality of teams that get into the postseason is still generally pretty good, anomalies notwithstanding. Witnessing a best-of-seven first round would make an already exciting postseason format even more compelling to watch. Also, the somewhat-truncated regular-season schedule can allow for the playoffs to be expanded, and for them to end before November. I personally would love to see the powers-that-be try to make this a reality, only as long as the month of November isn't involved.
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