Baseball's playoff expansion to start this year

[Doomsday101]

Major League Baseball will expand its playoffs this season from eight teams to 10 by adding an extra wild-card spot to each league, MLB.com reported Friday.

The expansion was agreed to last year in a collective bargaining deal between Major League Baseball and its players' union, but the parties didn't announce until Friday that the change would start with the 2012 season.

In each league, the playoffs will now consist of the three division winners plus two wild cards, which would be top two teams that didn't win a division. A league's two wild cards will play one post-season game against each other, with the winners advancing to their league’s Division Series.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/02/baseballs-playoff-expansion-to-start-this-year/?hpt=hp_t3

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I can remember when they didn't play night games. :laugh2:


The purists are probably rising up, out of their graves as we speak! :mummy:

 

[Doomsday101]

I can remember when they didn't play night games. :laugh2:


The purists are probably rising up, out of their graves as we speak! :mummy:

I know some were upset when they created 3 divisions and the wild card I'm sure the purist do not like this.

For me Baseball needed to do this to add more drama and excitiment.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I know some were upset when they created 3 divisions and the wild card I'm sure the purist do not like this.

For me Baseball needed to do this to add more drama and excitiment.

I don't really have too much issue with it so long as the revenues are used to better the game.

 

[Doomsday101]

I don't really have too much issue with it so long as the revenues are used to better the game.

Not sure how you can better it, rules really do not change much in the game of baseball. In my view what hurts baseball it is a long season with too many games. Once a team gets so far behind the fans in that city start to lose interest. adding a WC team will help some since it will keep more teams in the running but will only help so much.

If it were my call to make I would cut the number of games in a season.

 

[Cythim]

I hate this, the only purpose this serves is to ensure both Boston and the Yankees are in the playoff conversation every year.

 

[Doomsday101]

I hate this, the only purpose this serves is to ensure both Boston and the Yankees are in the playoff conversation every year.

They are in the conversation anyways it still opens the door for others as well. I think the main purpose is to keep more teams alive to help maintain interest over the course of the season.

 

[Risen Star]

I hate this, the only purpose this serves is to ensure both Boston and the Yankees are in the playoff conversation every year.

They already are in the playoff conversation every year.

 

[Cythim]

They are in the conversation anyways it still opens the door for others as well. I think the main purpose is to keep more teams alive to help maintain interest over the course of the season.

They already are in the playoff conversation every year.

In 3 of the last 4 years either Boston or the Yankees were the last team out. This new rule makes sure they are both in the playoffs every year.

 

[Mrdude108]

I'm all for this, although I think the AL East is the main/biggest reason for it, just in case the Rays or another team happen to finish second over Boston or NY one season, they still get both of their teams in the playoffs.

Plus, the one game playoffs are going to be crazy fun to watch but it does kind of suck for that 4th team, the 5th team is happy but that 4th team could have a much better team. Those WC game teams will have to burn their aces to get in which will hurt them in the next series. As for the Rangers, I guess it helps since we tend to have injuries to our big guys and the Angels are far better but it kinda gives teams that fallback option which wasn't there last year which was the best ending to a season I have ever seen. The division title is still very important though, because no one wants to play in that WC game...

I like it though, shaks things up and creates some exciting one game elimination baseball which could either be torture or greatness for teams who have a team in that game

 

[Doomsday101]

In 3 of the last 4 years either Boston or the Yankees were the last team out. This new rule makes sure they are both in the playoffs every year.

It also keeps other teams in the race. The new rule is not about Yankees or Redsox it is about keeping a run to the playoffs more interesting.

 

[Rogah]

In 3 of the last 4 years either Boston or the Yankees were the last team out. This new rule makes sure they are both in the playoffs every year.

I think this is a little overly paranoid.

The main reason they did this is to keep more teams in the hunt down the stretch. Another reason they did it is because they want to give a real incentive to winning the division. Until now, there was really very little advantage to winning the division over the wild card (HFA in baseball just is not that big of a deal).