OT: Major League Baseball's plans for playoff expansion

[Diamondback Jay]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—Baseball’s playoffs could be expanding in two years.

The new head of the players’ union says his members are open to adding more wild-card teams for 2012 and possibly extending the division series to a best-of-seven.

Union head Michael Weiner says it’s also possible players would agree to cutting the regular season from 162 games, but that’s more problematic because it would cost teams revenue.

“There is sentiment among a substantial segment of the players to consider expanding the playoffs,” Weiner said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of his first World Series since replacing Donald Fehr as union head.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig appears to be increasingly in favor of proposing more playoff teams during collective bargaining with the union next year, which will determine the postseason format for 2012 and beyond.

“We have less teams than any other sport,” he said last month. “We certainly haven’t abused anything.”

In the NFL, 12 of 32 teams make the playoffs. In the NBA and NHL, 16 of 30 teams advance to the postseason.

The first round series have been best-of-five since they began. It’s possible they could follow the path of the league championship series, which began as best-of-five in 1969, then expanded to best-of-seven in 1985.

“There are some players who have expressed an interest in that, as well,” Weiner said. “Obviously, you’ve got to look at everything together. But I think we can have a very healthy discussion with the commissioner’s office when bargaining begins about these issues.”

Weiner said the union likely would generate a consensus on its playoff stance during its annual executive board meeting in December. Bargaining is likely to start in the first half of the year on the labor contract to replace the one expiring on Dec. 11, 2011.

Only minor tinkering with the playoffs is possible for next October.

“We’ve been talking about a revised schedule in 2011 that would be a compressed schedule for postseason play,” he said. “The structure for playoffs in 2011 will be the same as it’s been throughout this contract.”

The regular season expanded from 154 games to 162 in the American League in 1961 and the National League a year later, when each of those circuits went from eight to 10 teams.

“Certainly some of the players have said either we should shorten the regular season because the regular season’s too long, or we should shorten the regular season to accommodate expanded postseason,” Weiner said, adding that would have “revenue implications for the industry.”

“That is one of the ideas that they are kicking around. But having said that, we understand that a proposal to reduce the length of the regular season will be viewed one way by the owners as opposed to a proposal to expand or modify the structure of the postseason.”

Not all players are in favor of a longer postseason.

“Personally, I like the system the way it is,” San Francisco Giants outfielder Aaron Rowand(notes) said as he prepared for Wednesday night’s World Series opener against the Texas Rangers. “I think just the one wild card team from each league. If you’re in a division where you’ve got a team running away with it, it gives all those other teams hope of something to play for throughout the course of the season.”

Through 1968, there were no divisions and the team with the best regular-season record in each league advanced to the World Series.

Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt(notes) is concerned that adding wild-card teams or increasing the length of the division series would make a long season even longer.

“If they’re going to do that, they need to shorten the season then. That’s a lot of games and that’s a long time. Even in the playoffs now we’re going potentially to Nov. 5,” he said. “Sometimes they think we’re just robots, but you’ve got to think of potential injuries. On pitchers, that’s a lot of throwing. Position players, some play every game all year. It just takes a toll on the body. If they’re going to do that, they’ve got to think a lot about the ramifications.”

Am I the only one who feels this is a terrible idea?

Right now, I think the playoff formula is just fine as is. Adding to it will only saturate it, and make the season longer than it should be.

 

[Dback Jon]

Don't like it either

 

[MigratingOsprey]

yeah - i agree

i think it's fine the way it is .... you'd have to cut drastically from 162 if you wanted to add on extra playoffs and the additional spacing that comes with it

to me that would seem like more revenue discrepency as well

i also like the best of 5 in the DS round

 

[Jersey Girl]

I don't see any reason to expand it other than to make more money.

 

[BC867]

I don't see any reason to expand it other than to make more money.

And give fans in more towns something to root for, other than being spoilers.

There's a wide range between the current MLB setup and the saturated NBA playoff arrangement.

Let's hope MLB winds up somewhere in the middle.

It's also going to encourage more teams to have good pitching. In the post-season, good pitching beats good hitting, as a rule.

 

[asuhoopsnut]

Am I the only one who feels this is a terrible idea?

Right now, I think the playoff formula is just fine as is. Adding to it will only saturate it, and make the season longer than it should be.

Totally agree with you Jay. Leave it the way it is! If it's not broke ..........