Is the Baseball New Postseason System Good or Bad?

by Eric Smith

The new postseason will enable an additional team to be added into each conference. The second wildcard team will face the other wildcard team in a one game playoff. This will certainly bring a new sense of excitement for the league.

This will make winning the division much more important. This will happen because no one will want to play in that one game playoff. Over the past couple of years, the Yankees sometimes give their starters time off at the end of year because they knew that if they didn’t win the division, they’d still make the playoffs. Now though, the Yankees can’t do this because the last thing they’d want is to play in a one game playoff.

The only issue with this system is that some teams might make the playoffs that didn’t deserve it. In the original system, a 90 win team in all likelihood made it to the playoffs. Now it is possible that a team with 80 teams can make it to the playoffs because they could beat the 90-win team in the one game playoff? This could also cause an 80-win team to win a world series. Would this be a great thing for the league? I don’t think so.

Also, last year maybe had one of the best endings to a season in baseball history. The Rays beat the Yankees in extra innings to go to the playoffs because Boston lost in the bottom of the 9^th inning. Also, the Cardinals made the playoffs by winning their respective game, while the Braves lost their game. Both of these comebacks were within at least 8 games in the last month of the year. Would these interesting playoff scenarios taken place? No because the Cardinals and Rays would have already qualified for that one game playoff. Although the interest in following the wildcard race will be diminished, it will make people interested in watching the race for the second wildcard spot.

Although there are certainly some flaws in the system, I generally like the new system. It will enhance the importance of winning the division, and it will make the following of the 2^nd wildcard spot very interesting.