I believe the solution to the latest cause of hand-wringing among baseball insiders is simple: the AL team with the best regular season record is declared the AL Champion, and the NL team with the best regular season record is declared the NL Champion. These titles (and the associated penants) are treated entirely separate from the playoffs, which can have as many entrants as Rob Manfred desires, and the winner is the World Series Champion.
Winning the penant under this system should be a massive honor (it isn't today) because it is determined by the method that grinds away variance better than any other sports title in the world.
The playoffs and World Series will continue to attract more attention, of course, because we've been conditioned to believe that playoffs and tournament results matter, even though we know luck plays an outsized factor in short series and winner-take-all games. After all, drama is fun.
Expand two teams. Four four-team divisions. Division winners only make the playoffs. Each round is 7 games with no days off for travel mid-series.
Pros:
No byes, no concerns about long layoffs
Depth matters since there are no days off, making it more like the regular season
Despite one less round, there are almost as many games possible as the current format
Guaranteed the World Series ends before November
Cons:
Fewer teams in the postseason (this might also be a pro depending on your stance here)
Teams with 90 plus wins likely to miss the playoffs while lesser division winners make it
Decent chance of a sub .500 team making the postseason
162 game schedule for this division format:
14 games against the 3 in-division teams (42 total)
12 games each against two of the three other in-league divisions (96 total)
6 games against the remaining division (24 games)
Rotate each year so 2 out of 3 years, you're playing 12 games against another division
No interleague play
Pros:
Brings back some classic rivalries that have been lost in recent years
Lets fans see the teams in their league more frequently
Gets rid of nonsensical interleague matchups
Cons:
No more interleague rivalry games (I view this as a pro but recognize many might see differently)
Fans don't get see all the games stars come to town (again, I don't think this is much of a con because between MLB Network, MLB.TV, and the internet in general, it has never been easier to see all the stars of the game)
All that written, I am well aware this will never happen, but I think it's the best of all worlds given where the game is.
(I'm still working on my expand-to-36-teams-and-create-three-12-team-leagues plan. The postseason is a nightmare).
I don't like the elimination of interleague play and the four team division format makes it highly likely there will be a division winner with an inferior record to second place teams in other divisions and therefore the best teams won't be included in the playoffs. This has happened on several occasions in the NFL with 8-8 and I believe a 7-9 team or teams being division champions(except that the teams with better records generally got in via wild card which isn't possible in your format). I don't think there's that much wrong with the current format except there are too many off days. I would suggest that you have one off day after the regular season (in case rained out games need to be made up like almost happened with the Marlins this season), then go Tue/Weds/Thurs for WC series and start all 4 DS on Friday. Then no days off in DS except for travel days.
You are correct. Not sure why I thought the first year for 6 was 2023 instead of 2022. Go Phils!!
By the way, my Dad was in the Navy and we moved around a lot. In my late teens, In about 1967 we went to a game in Philadelphia where Dick Allen hit the hardest home run I have ever seen (not the longest, the hardest). It sounded like a rifle shot and seem to still be rising as it went over the left field fence. I wish they had exit velocity back then. The only thing remotely close to that was when I watched then Washington Senator Frank Howard hit a line drive just barely over the glove of a leaping outfielder, caromed off the centerfield wall at old DC Stadium and was caught by the same outfielder. The throw into second appeared to have been made just as Frank reached first base, and there he stayed. Thanks for setting me straight on the #6 seed. Maybe Arizona can be the second #6 to reach the World Series.
I once lived in Springfield, IL, and the Illinois Times seemed to describe a world I didn't know I was inhabiting. It's a free weekly, like the Chicago Reader, which has ads for the local music scene, and any plays that may come to town, and reviews of those concerts and plays and movies, and some long form journalism with feature stories ,and columnists by the kind of interesting people I never seemed to encounter in my real day to day life there. Springfield is mostly populated by political folks who live there 3.5 days a week, and medical students and doctors and nurses, and people who graduated high school there and never left. And the bars are full of people who failed to make adequate plans. The Illinois Times did its best to corral these folks into a cultural scene, but I fondly remember reading the paper on nights I should have been experiencing the events described therein; but I was mostly tired.
Anyway, great paper, written by great people. And a great compliment to Joe to be reviewed so kindly. Cheers.
It wasn't really a "feud" with Schmidt...sorry, you're right about the larger point that no one calls us the second-toughest fanbase! That cracked me up. Thanks for the kind words about our weird, passionate fanbase and the way we can relate to players.
That was an awesome book review, Joe. Congratulations on the good pub!
I loved that reviewer's take -- which was only reinforced by his bio:
"Judge Stuart Shiffman of Springfield retired in 2007. He reviews books on sports, law, history and a range of subjects for Illinois Times and other publications. Last season, after attending baseball games since 1955, he caught his first foul ball. He immediately gave it to his grandson."
I totally agree with you about the Braves. It felt to me like they were even BLAMING that reporter for their loss and Harper’s performance. Ridiculous.
I mean, the team hit .186/.255/.264 in the series. They would have lost that particular game even if Harper went 0-5 with 5 Ks instead of hitting 2 home runs. They might want to take a long hard look in the mirror.
Down to the final four with one division winner and 3 wild cards. Comparing to a basketball Final Four, we have a #2 seed, a #4 and a #5 and a #6. Congratulations to Arizona, the first #6 to make it to the League Championship Series. Of course we have to acknowledge there were no #6s prior to this years expansion to 12 teams. Vegas has made the Astros the betting favorite to take it all. You might think that is the kiss of death given this years prior results but it isn't. The Astros long term contract with the Prince of Darkness definitely gives them edge. And to answer your question, that is not a reference to Rob Manfred. You may recall his punishment was to suspend the manager and GM and forgive all the players. He did fine the team $5,000,000 and take away 4 draft picks, but he let the Astros keep the World Series championship and went on to say the emblematic Commissioner's Trophy was just "a piece of metal" (accurate but technically applies to the Stanley Cup as well). No, Rob is not the Prince but he may be a prominent underling, say a Duke or Baron.
You are correct. Not sure why I thought the first year for 6 was 2023 instead of 2022. Go Phils!!
By the way, my Dad was in the Navy and we moved around a lot. In my late teens, In about 1967 we went to a game in Philadelphia where Dick Allen hit the hardest home run I have ever seen (not the longest, the hardest). It sounded like a rifle shot and seem to still be rising as it went over the left field fence. I wish they had exit velocity back then. The only thing remotely close to that was when I watched then Washington Senator Frank Howard hit a line drive just barely over the glove of a leaping outfielder, caromed off the centerfield wall at old DC Stadium and was caught by the same outfielder. The throw into second appeared to have been made just as Frank reached first base, and there he stayed. Thanks for setting me straight on the #6 seed. Maybe Arizona can be the second #6 to reach the World Series.
I agree. Lets eliminate divisions and have only the two leagues. Top eight of each league make the playoffs. Quarterfinals best of three (at the top seed ballpark), semifinals best of five, league final best of seven. Seed 1 vs seed 8, 2 vs 7 etc. Everybody starts playing at the same time. No byes, no team left out for a lesser one that won a mediocre division. It works just fine for other sports.
IMO, we're more likely to have all divisions and no leagues. They've been working toward eliminating leagues for years. There used to be league offices and presidents, even two sets of umpires. Teams that met in the WS hadn't played each other. Interleague play was just a stepping stone. All to bring it under the control of the commissioner.
An owner once said to Fay Vincent, "your job is to make us money. If you can't do that, we don't need you." Soon Vincent was gone. That will be their goal not what produces the best baseball.
100% agree with the need for and benefit of divisions in MLB. It definitely makes a difference in the NFL where division rivalries are a very big deal.
Leagues have lost meaning in MLB but leagues matter for scheduling - you want more games between teams in the same division and you want more games between teams in the same league, and you want to minimize travel. Of course who can forget when the Atlanta Braves played in the West division of the National League!
Actually it doesn't work out for other sports as I personally have zero interest in watching a regular season NBA or NHL game. And when the playoffs start I have zero interest in watching the first round games as the odds are so tilted in favor of of the more talented teams.
Only in the later rounds of NBA & NHL playoffs is there intrigue in watching games. Everything prior to that is "practice" for the top teams. Baseball is different. Baseball is much more accommodating to the underdog. This means that you never quite know what teams will surprise in the regular season. It also means that any team that makes it to the postseason has a chance to go deep
The great risk of expanding the MLB playoffs is a sub 500 team wins the World Series. Now that would demolish the reason to care about the regular season.
The NBA has 20 of its 30 teams eligible for the playoffs. They say it's a 16 team playoff but teams seeded 7-10 compete at the end of the regular season for the last two playoff spots. Crazy!
First round of the NBA playoffs used to be best of 5. For a while now it has been best of 7.
I understand. If it was for me we would have the Braves and Orioles playing the World Series. But the MLB playoffs are not gonna get any smaller. There's not going back. Without the divisions, at least you guarantee the teams with the best records make the finals, and you have everybody starting their post seasons at the same time.
I feel like all this talk of the problems with the format is way overblown. If we want less playoffs, I’m fine with that.
The fact of the matter is none of the teams the moves on were a huge surprise.
Not to downplay a great season, but Baltimore definitely had the feel of a team that could lose in the Division Series.
The Dodgers pitching rotation was a mess.
The Braves lost Charlie Morton and Max Fried was coming off the IL. The Phillies have been healthy and have kept pace with the Braves after another slow start. It’s not like the Marlins beat the Braves. Also, keep in mind, the Braves have been underperforming in the Postseason since before the Division Series was even a thing. This team has won 20 some divisions since 1991 and routinely been knocked out every before the World Series.
If people want to change the format, again, I’m on board. But let’s be honest, it’s not some huge mystery as to why things have played out the way that have the past two years.
Pitching, Health, and timely hitting in key situations all are key to postseason success and the O’s, Dodgers and Braves just didn’t have enough of each.
Neither has a layoff after going 4-0 in a series in the past. The Astros won the World Series last year after sweeping the ALCS and having 4 days off. They didn't hit like the Braves and Dodgers. The Nationals had 6 days off in 2019, and won it all. The Braves had 6 days off in 1995 before their only World Series win that decade.
This meme about the Dodgers and Braves not being able to hit because days off is just "Ad Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc" fallacy.
Can we put to rest the myth that "rest" is to blame for the Orioles and Dodgers getting swept? The Rays, Blue Jays, Brewers and Marlins were each swept out of the Wild Card. In 8 playoff games, those four teams scored a total of 9 runs. The Brewers scored FIVE of those NINE runs.
Please stop and ponder that with regular, routine rest, the Rays, Blue Jays and Marlins scored a total of FOUR runs in their six postseason games played, with the Blue Jays and the Rays each being shutout once and not one of these teams scored more than 1 run in any of their six games played.
The issue is not rest. It is not the playoff format. The issue, if you want to claim there is one, is that major league baseball teams are failing to score runs. Well, not all teams. The Rangers, DBacks and Astros are scoring plenty. The Phillies did ok. The Twins did ok.
The Braves and Dodgers failed to produce runs. The Dodgers scored just 6 runs over 3 games. The Braves were actually worse, scoring three runs in their three losses. The Orioles mainly lost because they couldn't keep the Rangers from not scoring.
The issue is not rest or time off. Something else happened. Maybe it is a fluke. Or maybe it is an omen.
Sad Braves fan here (sigh)...I really think they should make the first "round" of playoffs something like group play in the world cup. You could give division winners (or the top two teams in each league) home field for all of their games, but have two groups of three play 6 games per team (2 days on, one day off per team), but then have the winners of each group go to the LCS. Playing 6 games at home against two other teams feels like it should kinda favor teams that are good over the course of a season, but not be impossible odds for the other teams that make the playoffs.
I believe the solution to the latest cause of hand-wringing among baseball insiders is simple: the AL team with the best regular season record is declared the AL Champion, and the NL team with the best regular season record is declared the NL Champion. These titles (and the associated penants) are treated entirely separate from the playoffs, which can have as many entrants as Rob Manfred desires, and the winner is the World Series Champion.
Winning the penant under this system should be a massive honor (it isn't today) because it is determined by the method that grinds away variance better than any other sports title in the world.
The playoffs and World Series will continue to attract more attention, of course, because we've been conditioned to believe that playoffs and tournament results matter, even though we know luck plays an outsized factor in short series and winner-take-all games. After all, drama is fun.
Expand two teams. Four four-team divisions. Division winners only make the playoffs. Each round is 7 games with no days off for travel mid-series.
Pros:
No byes, no concerns about long layoffs
Depth matters since there are no days off, making it more like the regular season
Despite one less round, there are almost as many games possible as the current format
Guaranteed the World Series ends before November
Cons:
Fewer teams in the postseason (this might also be a pro depending on your stance here)
Teams with 90 plus wins likely to miss the playoffs while lesser division winners make it
Decent chance of a sub .500 team making the postseason
162 game schedule for this division format:
14 games against the 3 in-division teams (42 total)
12 games each against two of the three other in-league divisions (96 total)
6 games against the remaining division (24 games)
Rotate each year so 2 out of 3 years, you're playing 12 games against another division
No interleague play
Pros:
Brings back some classic rivalries that have been lost in recent years
Lets fans see the teams in their league more frequently
Gets rid of nonsensical interleague matchups
Cons:
No more interleague rivalry games (I view this as a pro but recognize many might see differently)
Fans don't get see all the games stars come to town (again, I don't think this is much of a con because between MLB Network, MLB.TV, and the internet in general, it has never been easier to see all the stars of the game)
All that written, I am well aware this will never happen, but I think it's the best of all worlds given where the game is.
(I'm still working on my expand-to-36-teams-and-create-three-12-team-leagues plan. The postseason is a nightmare).
I don't like the elimination of interleague play and the four team division format makes it highly likely there will be a division winner with an inferior record to second place teams in other divisions and therefore the best teams won't be included in the playoffs. This has happened on several occasions in the NFL with 8-8 and I believe a 7-9 team or teams being division champions(except that the teams with better records generally got in via wild card which isn't possible in your format). I don't think there's that much wrong with the current format except there are too many off days. I would suggest that you have one off day after the regular season (in case rained out games need to be made up like almost happened with the Marlins this season), then go Tue/Weds/Thurs for WC series and start all 4 DS on Friday. Then no days off in DS except for travel days.
Cincinnati ever going to get a makeup?
You are correct. Not sure why I thought the first year for 6 was 2023 instead of 2022. Go Phils!!
By the way, my Dad was in the Navy and we moved around a lot. In my late teens, In about 1967 we went to a game in Philadelphia where Dick Allen hit the hardest home run I have ever seen (not the longest, the hardest). It sounded like a rifle shot and seem to still be rising as it went over the left field fence. I wish they had exit velocity back then. The only thing remotely close to that was when I watched then Washington Senator Frank Howard hit a line drive just barely over the glove of a leaping outfielder, caromed off the centerfield wall at old DC Stadium and was caught by the same outfielder. The throw into second appeared to have been made just as Frank reached first base, and there he stayed. Thanks for setting me straight on the #6 seed. Maybe Arizona can be the second #6 to reach the World Series.
Sorry, was supposed to be a reply to another comment.
I once lived in Springfield, IL, and the Illinois Times seemed to describe a world I didn't know I was inhabiting. It's a free weekly, like the Chicago Reader, which has ads for the local music scene, and any plays that may come to town, and reviews of those concerts and plays and movies, and some long form journalism with feature stories ,and columnists by the kind of interesting people I never seemed to encounter in my real day to day life there. Springfield is mostly populated by political folks who live there 3.5 days a week, and medical students and doctors and nurses, and people who graduated high school there and never left. And the bars are full of people who failed to make adequate plans. The Illinois Times did its best to corral these folks into a cultural scene, but I fondly remember reading the paper on nights I should have been experiencing the events described therein; but I was mostly tired.
Anyway, great paper, written by great people. And a great compliment to Joe to be reviewed so kindly. Cheers.
Joe! I'll see you in Cherry Hill. I already bought my ticket. All of our friends can get them here.
https://www.showclix.com/event/joe-posnanski
It wasn't really a "feud" with Schmidt...sorry, you're right about the larger point that no one calls us the second-toughest fanbase! That cracked me up. Thanks for the kind words about our weird, passionate fanbase and the way we can relate to players.
That was an awesome book review, Joe. Congratulations on the good pub!
I loved that reviewer's take -- which was only reinforced by his bio:
"Judge Stuart Shiffman of Springfield retired in 2007. He reviews books on sports, law, history and a range of subjects for Illinois Times and other publications. Last season, after attending baseball games since 1955, he caught his first foul ball. He immediately gave it to his grandson."
So for the first time ever all four teams in the championship series are 90 wins or under.
In 2006 the Cardinals won the World Series after an 83-win season.
Did you think things were going to get better from there?
Explain to me again why we think having 40% of all teams in the playoffs is a good thing.
Tell it slow.
I totally agree with you about the Braves. It felt to me like they were even BLAMING that reporter for their loss and Harper’s performance. Ridiculous.
I mean, the team hit .186/.255/.264 in the series. They would have lost that particular game even if Harper went 0-5 with 5 Ks instead of hitting 2 home runs. They might want to take a long hard look in the mirror.
Down to the final four with one division winner and 3 wild cards. Comparing to a basketball Final Four, we have a #2 seed, a #4 and a #5 and a #6. Congratulations to Arizona, the first #6 to make it to the League Championship Series. Of course we have to acknowledge there were no #6s prior to this years expansion to 12 teams. Vegas has made the Astros the betting favorite to take it all. You might think that is the kiss of death given this years prior results but it isn't. The Astros long term contract with the Prince of Darkness definitely gives them edge. And to answer your question, that is not a reference to Rob Manfred. You may recall his punishment was to suspend the manager and GM and forgive all the players. He did fine the team $5,000,000 and take away 4 draft picks, but he let the Astros keep the World Series championship and went on to say the emblematic Commissioner's Trophy was just "a piece of metal" (accurate but technically applies to the Stanley Cup as well). No, Rob is not the Prince but he may be a prominent underling, say a Duke or Baron.
The #6 2022 Philadelphia Phillies would like a word with you about advancing to the LCS and beyond . . .
You are correct. Not sure why I thought the first year for 6 was 2023 instead of 2022. Go Phils!!
By the way, my Dad was in the Navy and we moved around a lot. In my late teens, In about 1967 we went to a game in Philadelphia where Dick Allen hit the hardest home run I have ever seen (not the longest, the hardest). It sounded like a rifle shot and seem to still be rising as it went over the left field fence. I wish they had exit velocity back then. The only thing remotely close to that was when I watched then Washington Senator Frank Howard hit a line drive just barely over the glove of a leaping outfielder, caromed off the centerfield wall at old DC Stadium and was caught by the same outfielder. The throw into second appeared to have been made just as Frank reached first base, and there he stayed. Thanks for setting me straight on the #6 seed. Maybe Arizona can be the second #6 to reach the World Series.
I agree. Lets eliminate divisions and have only the two leagues. Top eight of each league make the playoffs. Quarterfinals best of three (at the top seed ballpark), semifinals best of five, league final best of seven. Seed 1 vs seed 8, 2 vs 7 etc. Everybody starts playing at the same time. No byes, no team left out for a lesser one that won a mediocre division. It works just fine for other sports.
IMO, we're more likely to have all divisions and no leagues. They've been working toward eliminating leagues for years. There used to be league offices and presidents, even two sets of umpires. Teams that met in the WS hadn't played each other. Interleague play was just a stepping stone. All to bring it under the control of the commissioner.
An owner once said to Fay Vincent, "your job is to make us money. If you can't do that, we don't need you." Soon Vincent was gone. That will be their goal not what produces the best baseball.
100% agree with the need for and benefit of divisions in MLB. It definitely makes a difference in the NFL where division rivalries are a very big deal.
Leagues have lost meaning in MLB but leagues matter for scheduling - you want more games between teams in the same division and you want more games between teams in the same league, and you want to minimize travel. Of course who can forget when the Atlanta Braves played in the West division of the National League!
Actually it doesn't work out for other sports as I personally have zero interest in watching a regular season NBA or NHL game. And when the playoffs start I have zero interest in watching the first round games as the odds are so tilted in favor of of the more talented teams.
Only in the later rounds of NBA & NHL playoffs is there intrigue in watching games. Everything prior to that is "practice" for the top teams. Baseball is different. Baseball is much more accommodating to the underdog. This means that you never quite know what teams will surprise in the regular season. It also means that any team that makes it to the postseason has a chance to go deep
The great risk of expanding the MLB playoffs is a sub 500 team wins the World Series. Now that would demolish the reason to care about the regular season.
I really wish the NBA and NHL would make their first round series as best of five. It would really help my enjoyment.
The NBA has 20 of its 30 teams eligible for the playoffs. They say it's a 16 team playoff but teams seeded 7-10 compete at the end of the regular season for the last two playoff spots. Crazy!
First round of the NBA playoffs used to be best of 5. For a while now it has been best of 7.
Those 1 vs. 8 and 2 vs 7 (or whoever makes it out of the pre-tournament thing) are so pointless. They're almost always sweeps.
And changing 3/6 and 4/5 into a 5-game series really heightens the drama. I love 5-game series.
I understand. If it was for me we would have the Braves and Orioles playing the World Series. But the MLB playoffs are not gonna get any smaller. There's not going back. Without the divisions, at least you guarantee the teams with the best records make the finals, and you have everybody starting their post seasons at the same time.
I feel like all this talk of the problems with the format is way overblown. If we want less playoffs, I’m fine with that.
The fact of the matter is none of the teams the moves on were a huge surprise.
Not to downplay a great season, but Baltimore definitely had the feel of a team that could lose in the Division Series.
The Dodgers pitching rotation was a mess.
The Braves lost Charlie Morton and Max Fried was coming off the IL. The Phillies have been healthy and have kept pace with the Braves after another slow start. It’s not like the Marlins beat the Braves. Also, keep in mind, the Braves have been underperforming in the Postseason since before the Division Series was even a thing. This team has won 20 some divisions since 1991 and routinely been knocked out every before the World Series.
If people want to change the format, again, I’m on board. But let’s be honest, it’s not some huge mystery as to why things have played out the way that have the past two years.
Pitching, Health, and timely hitting in key situations all are key to postseason success and the O’s, Dodgers and Braves just didn’t have enough of each.
Not playing meaningful games for at least the last month of the season didn't help either.
How many days are they off for the All Star break? I don't recall that being an issue.
Neither has a layoff after going 4-0 in a series in the past. The Astros won the World Series last year after sweeping the ALCS and having 4 days off. They didn't hit like the Braves and Dodgers. The Nationals had 6 days off in 2019, and won it all. The Braves had 6 days off in 1995 before their only World Series win that decade.
This meme about the Dodgers and Braves not being able to hit because days off is just "Ad Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc" fallacy.
Just anexcuse for losers.
Can we put to rest the myth that "rest" is to blame for the Orioles and Dodgers getting swept? The Rays, Blue Jays, Brewers and Marlins were each swept out of the Wild Card. In 8 playoff games, those four teams scored a total of 9 runs. The Brewers scored FIVE of those NINE runs.
Please stop and ponder that with regular, routine rest, the Rays, Blue Jays and Marlins scored a total of FOUR runs in their six postseason games played, with the Blue Jays and the Rays each being shutout once and not one of these teams scored more than 1 run in any of their six games played.
The issue is not rest. It is not the playoff format. The issue, if you want to claim there is one, is that major league baseball teams are failing to score runs. Well, not all teams. The Rangers, DBacks and Astros are scoring plenty. The Phillies did ok. The Twins did ok.
The Braves and Dodgers failed to produce runs. The Dodgers scored just 6 runs over 3 games. The Braves were actually worse, scoring three runs in their three losses. The Orioles mainly lost because they couldn't keep the Rangers from not scoring.
The issue is not rest or time off. Something else happened. Maybe it is a fluke. Or maybe it is an omen.
Joe,
Why do you hate Boston?
Sad Braves fan here (sigh)...I really think they should make the first "round" of playoffs something like group play in the world cup. You could give division winners (or the top two teams in each league) home field for all of their games, but have two groups of three play 6 games per team (2 days on, one day off per team), but then have the winners of each group go to the LCS. Playing 6 games at home against two other teams feels like it should kinda favor teams that are good over the course of a season, but not be impossible odds for the other teams that make the playoffs.
Sour grapes
I thought we generally tried to keep it nice and positive here.