The MLB has expanded the playoff system for the third time now. In each league there will be two wild card teams and they face off in a one game elimination. This game will be played on Friday, October 5. Then the winner will advance on to a division winner and play them. It’ll still be a 5 game series, but the lower seed will play the first two games home and final three away, making it a 2-3 format. Next year it will return back to 2-2-1, which is the team with home field advantage will play the first two games home and same with the last game for the division series . Now two teams from the same division can face off in the division series. The WC and NLCS will remain the same. I really like this new format. Now more teams can have a shot at the championship. I’m also happy to just watch more baseball even if it is only another game or so. One way I see this happened is because more games will bring more money. I really hope this wasn’t part of the discussion. I hope you look forward to this new playoff format. Please comment your opinion on the new format.
Love the new format IF they just implemented it next season. This 2-3 format is mind numbingly retarded.
The entire point of the new format is to reward teams for winning their division and having the best regular season records yet now we find ourselves in a position where it is very likely that one of the “higher seeds’ will be down 2-0 before they play their first home playoff game, having to win three in a row to survive. Just ridiculous and not necessary.
They could have, and should have, waited until next season to add the second wild card.
If everything goes smoothly, the format should work. It does have the potential to create a nightmare this season since the schedule is already set and we could likely get tiebreaker games for the one game playoff and rain delays could mess things up even further.
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