Probably the most embarrassing playoff race in Main League Baseball historical past (Homer Simpson voice: “Probably the most embarrassing playoff race in Main League Baseball historical past SO FAR”) is going down within the American League, the place half the sphere shall be fortunate to get to the postseason with a profitable report.
However the best testomony to MLB’s hubris is within the Nationwide League, the place the enlargement of the postseason has ensured there’s no wild card race in any respect.
Not solely are the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres all tied for the three NL wild card berths at 85-69 coming into play as we speak, they’re 5 video games away from the free-falling Arizona Diamondbacks, who’ve misplaced six of eight.
Barring a historic collapse by one of many three tri-leaders, the one suspense over the ultimate eight days of the season shall be about seeding and three-way tiebreaker eventualities, the latter of which I’m not going to fret about till a minimum of subsequent Thursday.
And whereas there’s actually worth in incomes the fourth seed and residential area within the wild card spherical in addition to avoiding falling to the six seed and going through the Atlanta Braves in a best-of-three collection, it’s not almost as compelling because the Phillies, Cubs and Padres battling for one or two berths.
Think about the theatre and the scoreboard-watching across the nation if a minimum of one of many three NL wild card groups was going to have to go dwelling for the doubtless infinite winter subsequent Sunday.
Probably the most memorable closing day of a season in latest reminiscence — Sept. 28, 2011 — was born out of the information that both the Boston Pink Sox or Tampa Bay Rays weren’t going to make the playoffs as the AL wild card group. The Pink Sox have been neglected after they have been walked off by the last-place Baltimore Orioles shortly earlier than Dan Johnson hit essentially the most memorable homer of his life to present the Rays a walk-off 11-inning win over the New York Yankees.
There shall be none of {that a} week from Sunday, which shall be one other reminder one wild card per league was the proper association. However after all the playoffs needed to be expanded as a result of there was more cash to be made, extra devaluing of what was as soon as the best common season in sports activities and extra randomness to infuse into the postseason.
Don’t fear, although. Sooner or later following the impending unending lockout, Main League Baseball will broaden to 32 groups, as a result of what a sport with not sufficient pitching and too many billionaires crying poverty wants is MORE groups.
And when Main League Baseball goes to 32 groups, the playoffs will broaden to 16 groups and there’ll be eight playoff groups in every league. And that can remedy the dearth of suspense within the NL wild card race!
If there was a 16-team format proper now, the Diamondbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates (77-77) can be “main” the race for the ultimate two NL wild card spots, with the Miami Marlins (76-78) and St. Louis Cardinals (75-79) in one thing resembling scorching pursuit. And thus some 12 months quickly, we’ll be pining for the nice ol’ days of 2026, when just one league had playoff groups threatening to squeak in at .500 or worse.
