MLB to start every game on season’s final day at the same time
Looking to add even more excitement to race for the postseason, Major League Baseball has announced a scheduling change they hope will do just that.
Every game on the regular season’s final day will start at the same time. The 2015 season ends Sunday, Oct. 4, and first pitch is set for 3 p.m. ET in all 15 games across MLB.
Here’s what the league’s COO Tony Pettiti told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times about the decision:
“If a game impacts another game, they’re all occurring at the same time, so no team would be put into a lame-duck situation because their fate already had been decided by an earlier result. If we do have games coming down to the wire, we want to make sure we maximize that day. We’re hopeful that the races will come down to the last day of the season. We want to make sure we celebrate the end of the season properly.“
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There were two instances last season where simultaneous starts would have impacted the way the final day played out.
The NL Central title and second AL wild-card spot had not yet been decided, but staggered start time cut down the potential drama in a big way. The Pirates’ loss earlier in the day meant the Cardinals clinched the division before taking the field for Game 162 and they were able to rest ace Adam Wainwright for the NLDS. The Mariners needed a win and an A’s loss to force a tiebreaker in the wild-card, but they were eliminated halfway through their game when Oakland wrapped up a victory.
Having all the games begin simultaneously will force desperate teams to play to win, regardless of what’s happening at another ballpark.
Let’s hope at least a couple playoff races come down to the wire this season so we can see this great idea come to life.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
