Introducing more wild cards would ruin late-season pennant races and allow unworthy sub-500 teams an undeserved chance at October action.
Noah Godwin
Assistant Sports Editor
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
The current success of Major League Baseball rivals even the highest apexes of popularity in the history of the game. Every other time the MLB playoffs were expanded, at least one of two conditions was met. Either the league was expanding, or the fans were disgruntled with the game.
In 1969, with the league having more than doubled in size since adopting the World Series in 1903, the National and American leagues split into two divisions each. A five-game playoff between each division winner in the leagues determined who would play in the World Series.
This system was maintained until 1985, and even then the only change was that the League Championship Series were both increased to seven games instead of five. The one exception came in 1981, when fan support dramatically declined because of that season’s strike. Owners, in a desperate attempt to attract playoff attention, increased the number of teams in the playoffs to eight. That system was abandoned after only one year.
A combination of the league having almost doubled in size since its last substantive change in 1969 and the strike-shortened year of 1994, the 1995 playoffs were expanded to include four teams in each league. Having expanded to three divisions in 1995, the playoff spots were granted to the three divisional winners and a wildcard.
Given that MLB has recently considered reducing the number of ballclubs, and that the game maintains its aforementioned popularity, there should be no argument here.
The lack of historically accepted reasons for expanding the playoffs is not the only attribute that reveals the absurdity of this argument: the logistics involved in expanding the playoffs would strike a strong blow to the very heart of the game.
Two great teams battling one another late in the season for supremacy of the diamond generates much of the excitement in baseball.
Expanding the playoffs would require increasing the number of teams to 16, because any number less than 16 would allow some teams to earn first-round byes. Letting a pitching staff rest for more than a week while watching its two possible future opponents wear their arms out would be so grossly unfair that it approaches cruelty.
With 16 playoff teams, the very real possibility exists of a team with a record less than .500 reaching the playoffs.
Abner Doubleday, the widely recognized inventor of the game, would roll over in his grave.
I can’t imagine Ty Cobb, Ted Williams or Stan Musial willingly participating in a playoff game following a season in which their teams couldn’t manage to win more games than they lost.
Even worse than seeing sub-.500 teams entering the playoffs would be the pathetic end to the regular season.The Yankees and Red Sox would already be coasting into the playoffs, meaning that the most important games right now would be the Devil Rays hosting the Tigers and the Indians traveling to Baltimore. These below-average teams would steal the spotlight, desperately trying to extend their seasons if only for one more week. The wild A.L. West wouldn’t be so wild if Oakland, Texas and Anaheim all could rest assured that they were going to the playoffs.
By extending the playoffs, the excitement generated by elite teams battling for supremacy at the end of the season would be deflated. Yes, any time the Yankees travel to Boston, it’s going to be exciting, but the game will not have that edge-of-your-seat feeling if the games are meaningless with respect to the standings.
I agree that seeing more teams and cities participate in the excitement of the playoffs would be good for the game, but the changes should be made so that those excluded teams can have a legitimate chance at fielding an elite ball club.
Attempting to artificially manufacture excitement for those clubs by creating a system in which the number of teams that make the playoffs is more than those who don’t is not the answer. Because ultimately fans will see through the artificial nature of such a system, it won’t even be an option.
Relax Mr. Doubleday, you can still rest in peace.
09-16-2004