You know, the MLB is thinking about it. But I think it might be cool if we actually implemented 2 more Wild Card slots for the playoffs. Look at it this way, it builds more competition. Last year, Toronto missed the playoffs despite winning 91 games. With 2 more Wild Card slots in the AL his productive season could have been rewarded. Kirby, when he had the Dodgers, might have never had a fire sale if he knew he could potentially gain one of those 2 slots. Teams who are middle of the pack and are just sitting on their asses waiting for their prospects to shine could actually be given the opportunity to make some deals and actually build competition for their team. It would make the league more of a hot seat potentially, teams like Detroit or Arizona who have the right players can make some deadline deals to push them into the playoffs. It would be the best 12 out of 30, which I think is a good enough sample for the playoff rounds. This could also be an end to the so called complaining from the mid to small market teams wanting more rules to side with them. Just an thought. here is how it would work:
The best two records in each league get a 1st round bye. The winners of the 1st round will then play the teams that had a bye. Afterward comes the league championship series then the WS. Example:
NYY* - 105-57 FLA* - 99-63
LAA* - 99-63 HOU* - 105-57
KCR** - 90-72 SFG**- 88-74
BAL*** - 97-65 NYM*** - 89-73
TOR*** - 91-71 MIL*** - 88-74
CLE*** - 89-73 ATL*** - 86-76
NYY, LAA, FLA and HOU get 1st round bye's. Wild Card Series consists of 3 games and looks like this:
KCR vs. CLE (KCR over CLE 2-0)
BAL vs. TOR (BAL over TOR 2-1)
SFG vs. ATL (SFG over ATL 2-1)
NYM vs. MIL (NYM over MIL 2-0)
Divisional Series consists of 5 games and looks like this:
NYY vs. KCR (NYY over KCR 3-2)
LAA vs. BAL (BAL over LAA 3-1)
HOU vs. SFG (HOU over SFG 3-0)
FLA vs. NYM (FLA over NYM 3-1)
Championship Series consists of 7 games and looks like this:
NYY vs. BAL (NYY over BAL 4-1)
HOU vs. FLA (FLA over HOU 4-2)
World Series consists of 7 games and looks like this:
NYY vs. FLA (NYY over FLA 4-1)
As you can see, KCR gets rewarded for winning their division by playing the team with the weaker record in the Wild Card series, as does SFG with ATL. Houston plays SFG in the Divisional Series because SFG has the weakest record of all the NL teams in the Divisional round. So yes, in the divisional round we could see division rival match-ups. The big thing with this here could be how much time it takes in total. I have found a way to fit the 3 game Wild Card round in without switching up the 2-3-2 format, and it will potentially take the World Series to November 5th, which is actually fine because the Re-signing/FA period doesn't start until November 11th. The MLB set up this year's World Series ending on November 4th.
* -Division winning team/1st round bye ** -Division winning team *** -Wild Card winning team
:BAL:
The best two records in each league get a 1st round bye. The winners of the 1st round will then play the teams that had a bye. Afterward comes the league championship series then the WS. Example:
NYY* - 105-57 FLA* - 99-63
LAA* - 99-63 HOU* - 105-57
KCR** - 90-72 SFG**- 88-74
BAL*** - 97-65 NYM*** - 89-73
TOR*** - 91-71 MIL*** - 88-74
CLE*** - 89-73 ATL*** - 86-76
NYY, LAA, FLA and HOU get 1st round bye's. Wild Card Series consists of 3 games and looks like this:
KCR vs. CLE (KCR over CLE 2-0)
BAL vs. TOR (BAL over TOR 2-1)
SFG vs. ATL (SFG over ATL 2-1)
NYM vs. MIL (NYM over MIL 2-0)
Divisional Series consists of 5 games and looks like this:
NYY vs. KCR (NYY over KCR 3-2)
LAA vs. BAL (BAL over LAA 3-1)
HOU vs. SFG (HOU over SFG 3-0)
FLA vs. NYM (FLA over NYM 3-1)
Championship Series consists of 7 games and looks like this:
NYY vs. BAL (NYY over BAL 4-1)
HOU vs. FLA (FLA over HOU 4-2)
World Series consists of 7 games and looks like this:
NYY vs. FLA (NYY over FLA 4-1)
As you can see, KCR gets rewarded for winning their division by playing the team with the weaker record in the Wild Card series, as does SFG with ATL. Houston plays SFG in the Divisional Series because SFG has the weakest record of all the NL teams in the Divisional round. So yes, in the divisional round we could see division rival match-ups. The big thing with this here could be how much time it takes in total. I have found a way to fit the 3 game Wild Card round in without switching up the 2-3-2 format, and it will potentially take the World Series to November 5th, which is actually fine because the Re-signing/FA period doesn't start until November 11th. The MLB set up this year's World Series ending on November 4th.
* -Division winning team/1st round bye ** -Division winning team *** -Wild Card winning team
:BAL:
