Major League Baseball was forced to expand its playoff form during its shortened season last year, and it doesn’t seem to like it much.
According to the informed Ken Rosenthal, he said a word about it In his podcast produced by The AthleteMLP could launch a system of 14 teams for the playoffs early next year. This is a decision that can be formalized during off-season joint negotiations.
“Moving forward, as discussed, is a playoff format with seven teams from each league. There is also talk of a home advantage for the division champion, which fines the best runner-up and is a little in favor of clubs with the best record.”
– Ken Rosenthal
MLP has built a reputation for having the most exclusive post-season of all major American games, as it usually only offers ten playoff tickets. NBA, NFL and NHL are each allowed in this feature.
As for the success of the Group-16 formula in 2020 – and the owners’ pronounced interest in changing the structure of the playoffs before the outbreak, the league management should discuss it.
The idea was raised last October, for the 2021 season. Negotiations have failed, but the persistence of the league in this file indicates which direction we want to go.
Of course – it should be emphasized – this idea does not appeal to ball cleaners. However, any improvement annoys them. We have to come back.
The frequent argument is that the importance of the regular season will diminish if more teams are able to find their way into the future. As more fan pools are involved in the race, this form will create some refreshing surprises that can be responded to by pointing out that it is good for baseball.
After all, this is one of the things former commissioner Butt Celik said in 2012 when he founded the second place dedicated to an excellent runner-up.