Commissioner Manfred willing to consider changes to wild card system
Before leaving office, one of commissioner Bud Selig’s last major decisions was to add a second wild-card team in each league and a separate win-or-go home play-in game.
The idea was to place more importance on winning the division, which had lost its luster with so many wild-card teams catching fire in October and surging to the World Series. It was also designed to give more teams an opportunity to contend, while hopefully creating more drama in the season’s final weeks and adding a pair of do-or-die games to kick start the playoffs.
Of course, money was also a consideration. It always is. So there’s something in it for everyone.
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Most would agree the added wild-card game itself has been a success. Not every game has been a hit on the field or a ratings draw, but last season’s AL battle between the A’s and Royals gave us a thriller that matched the drama the league has envisioned. However, there’s always been some debate about the wild card system and whether or not it’s truly rewarding the correct teams.
That debate has been ramped up considerably given this season’s standings, especially in the NL. The Pirates (88-60) and Cubs (87-61) currently own the second and third best records in baseball, respectively, but their postseason fates could be determined by that single play-in game. Meanwhile the Dodgers (85-62) and Mets (84-64) could finish behind both in the standings, yet advance directly into the NLDS.
It’s a scenario that’s bound to come up given the set up, but it’s also one that many would agree is flawed. A lot of baseball people and fans alike think the idea should always be to reward the best teams in the regular season, regardless of geography. It’s a sentiment new commissioner Rob Manfred understands, and in a interview with FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal he expressed a willingness to consider changes.
“If I’ve accomplished anything in the first months that I’ve been here, I hope it is that we have projected a willingness to evaluate and re-evaluate where we are on important topics,” Manfred said. “On this one, if in fact there is sentiment among the clubs that we have an issue here, we will take a hard look at it.
“Personally, I think it is a mistake to get caught up in results. I understand what you’re saying about Pittsburgh and what has happened to them. I get it. But I think it’s a mistake to focus on an individual team as opposed to the system. Where we need to stay focused — but may need to revisit — is on the incentives we’re trying to create. Let’s talk about those.
“When we went to this system, we wanted to try to encourage people to compete all the way to the end of the season to win the division. I think this system does that. No. 2, even within the wild card, we wanted to build in a situation where those two teams continued to compete in order to get what we perceived to be a significant advantage, competitively and from a business perspective — that is, a home game in the playoffs. I think we’ve achieved that.
“Then you get to the question of, what do you do with those two wild cards? That’s the next sequential question. The balance we struck there was that we were trying to disadvantage the wild cards. We wanted the division titles to be more meaningful.
The ultimate resolution may well be what Yahoo’s Jeff Passan’s suggested in August: Eliminate divisions all together.Two leagues. Fifteen teams in each league, all fighting for three guaranteed playoff spots and the two play-in slots.
Obviously, it would be a hard sell for baseball purists. Nostalgia is a big thing in our beloved game, but we’ve all come to terms with the wild card and the wild card play-in. We’d come to terms with this as well.
A more balanced schedule would be required. No more fattening up on the league bottom feeders, which at times can run three deep in a division. Rivalries would survive too, and maybe even feel more important with fewer matchups.
There’s a lot to like about that possibility, but it’s anybody’s guess what Manfred and company would ultimately decide on if changes are made.
Check in with the Stew next week, because we’ll give our thoughts on changes we’d like to see made to the entire postseason system. It’ll be good.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
