As I see it, Major League Baseball should add another round to the playoffs. A true Wild Card playoff. A one-game elimination. Sudden Death. Win or go home. Now, before you shake your head and see visions of a Thanksgiving World Series, read on.
This playoff would be a one-game elimination between two Wild Card teams in each league. The Wild Card teams are simply the two teams in each league with the best non-division-winning record.
Think about it: currently the system allows the Wild Card team in each league to enjoy the same chances of winning the World Series as the division winners. What drawbacks are there for not winning the division? It's totally conceivable that a team can lock in a Wild Card slot, set up the rotation and sit back and wait till the playoffs begin. Meanwhile, their potential opponent may need to go down to the last game just to win its own division and need to use every pitcher available. In this case, the Wild Card team is rested and prepared and the division winner is at a disadvantage. Where is the advantage of winning a division in that scenario? An extra home game? The Wild Card winners should have a higher hill to climb because they didn't win their division; that's why they are Wild Card teams.
So I propose that each league allows two Wild Card teams to meet in a one-game playoff on the day following the end of the season. For National TV coverage, one game starts at 4 p.m., the other at 8 p.m. The winners move onto the Division playoffs beginning the next day and face the team in the league with the best overall regular-season record. This adds value to the regular season schedule by rewarding the winningest team in that league to play the Wild Card winner of that league.
Sounds tough for the Wild Card winner? It should be. That's the disadvantage of being a Wild Card team. Think about it. The one-game playoff is do or die. The starters should be the best the team has to offer and everyone on the staff is available. It makes the winning team go into the divisional playoff with its best pitcher already used in the previous game. Playoff survival becomes more difficult and creates even more drama the deeper a team gets into the playoff rounds.
But what about other in-season positives? How about the additional teams that can tell their fans they are in the hunt for a playoff spot in the last six weeks of the season? Wouldn't that create more excitement and fan involvement for those teams and in turn fill more buildings? Think about having four or five teams in each league vying for the two Wild Card spots and the season coming down to the final game in both leagues with outcomes directly impacting the Wild Card and quite possibly the divisional winners.
Also, with this added round, isn't it reasonable to allow that more small-market teams can become, at the least, playoff competitive and reduce the overwhelming complaints of teams not being able to compete in those markets? Would above-average players be willing to stay put with a small-market team instead of leaving to have a better chance to get to the playoffs? Would the trading of star players in midseason be reduced as more teams see their playoff chances become more realistic?
MLB has had to go to a one-game playoff to settle a division. Who can forget the drama of the Yankee-Red Sox playoff in 1978? Why not have the opportunity for that kind of one-game drama to happen every year and in both leagues? Isn't that the ultimate goal, to have the fans glued to their sets, to be talking baseball?
Some years ago, the NFL did the same thing and the Wild Card playoff arguably has become the most exciting part of the football playoffs. It's been done with extreme success in that league, and there is no reason to think it would not have the same success in MLB.
I truly love Major League Baseball and am a passionate fan. I fully believe this change will increase fan involvement, generate season-ending excitement and make the regular-season records even more important.
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Posted February 7, 2003.
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