Does MLB’s postseason need fixing?
We can’t change the number of games, so let’s change the number of days without games
The World Series is over. It pains me to write this, considering how much I love baseball and it’s my livelihood, but this was one of the least interesting playoffs of my lifetime.
Of the 11 series, only two went the distance, six were sweeps. Out of 41 postseason games, only a few would be described as “instant classics.”
The clinching game for the Texas Rangers was gripping baseball with tense drama for eight innings. But all too often, the script was the winning team took an early lead, usually on home runs, and a parade of hard-throwing relievers hung onto the lead.
The three teams with the best regular season win totals were bounced in their opening round, going a combined 1-9.
The two teams in the World Series had the 8th and 12th best win totals in the sport. Neither of those teams had a transcendent star that casual fans would recognize. The biggest name was pitcher Max Scherzer, who pitched once, got hurt, and was removed from the roster. The breakout star of the postseason, Adolis Garcia, got hurt and also missed the last two games.
The fear of abysmal ratings was accurate. Games two and three were the lowest-rated in World Series history. ESPN and FS1 intentionally do not discuss baseball on their debate shows because their minute-by-minute research data indicates it leads to worse ratings.
Most fans who bought tickets and created electric atmosphere with their cheering went home disappointed. The road teams won 26 of the 41 games, including 14 of the last 19.
Baseball made unprecedented, historic changes at the start of the season, implementing a Pitch Timer, a ban on infield shifts, and bigger bases. It led to quicker games, a slight increase in offense, more action on the bases, and higher attendance in the regular season. But it didn’t translate to the postseason.
So what can be done?
No easy answers exist. Sports are driven by star power. Yet baseball is a sport that’s hardest for one player to dominate. I mean, imagine if Kobe Bryant had to wait for eight of his teammates to take a shot between each of his shots? Or if Tom Brady’s arm was so tired after a game it needed 3-4 days rest?
Sometimes this is just the luck of the draw. I mean, the NFL once had a Super Bowl where the quarterbacks were Trent Dilfer and Kerry Collins. It happens.
Baseball needs to let these new rules sink in and evolve. Coming up with new gimmicks won’t work.
Baseball can’t do anything about stars getting hurt, or not making the playoffs, or getting eliminated before the World Series. Baseball can’t do anything about getting the teams in the biggest markets and with the biggest followings into the playoffs.
Baseball can, however, do something about the schedule.
Are there too many postseason MLB games? Most definitely. The regular season is watered down, now that 12 of the 30 teams advance. That’s not changing. The playoffs just expanded last year. The players union didn’t want it. MLB owners did, because more games means more TV money. So the quantity of games isn’t going to change anytime soon.
What about the number of days off?
Over on JoeBlogs, it was asked if providing more days off between games would be better, reasoning the best starting pitchers would be more rested and could pitch more often. Joe is one of my favorite writers, but I suggest we do the opposite.
I’d want fewer off days. Dramatically fewer off days.
This year, the regular season ended October 1. A potential Game Seven of the World Series would have been November 4. Even if the championship team came from the Wild Card, and played every series to the fullest, that’s still only 22 games in 34 days. That’s a minimum of 12 days off, not counting days off after clinching a series.
The World Champion Rangers, due to winning series quickly and scheduled off days, had 13 days without a game this postseason. By comparison, they had 12 scheduled days off over the first three months of the regular season.
This is how I’d do it, using this year’s calendar as a blueprint:
Keep the day off after the regular season ends, which you need anyway, in case of a tiebreaker. (Oct. 2)
I’d prefer the Wild Card is just one game. But you can’t change TV contracts. I’d keep it a best-of-3, no days off, all at one ballpark. (Oct. 3-5)
Zero days off between the end of the Wild Card and the Division Series and zero days off during the best-of-5. This gets the division winners back on the field sooner without getting as rusty. This makes it harder on the Wild Card teams, but it’s still only a maximum of eight straight days with a game. They can still reset their roster between series too. (Oct 6-10, instead of Oct. 7-13)
One day off between the Division Series and ALCS/NLCS, then a best-of-7 in eight days. I’d stagger the off days for TV, so we get at least one game each day. (Oct. 12-19, instead of Oct. 15-24)
One day off between the LCS and World Series, then another best-of-7 in eight days, the off day coming between Games Two and Three. (Oct. 21-28, instead of Oct. 27-Nov. 4)
Under this plan, the playoffs end seven days sooner. A wild card team, like the Rangers, would play between 13 and 22 games in 25 days. A division winner would play between 11 and 19 games in 22 days.
Again, teams can do this. This is reasonable. They have chartered flights. They do this for six months. Baseball is a daily sport and this makes the postseason more similar to the regular season.
Fewer days off would reward the teams with more starting pitching depth. It would make it much harder for designed “bullpen games” that are sometime effective, yet usually boring. Managers would be more likely to stick with their starting pitchers longer. Fatigued pitching staffs would lead to more offense. More offense leads to more dramatic lead changes late in games.
The players adjusted to the new rules this season. None of those doomsday scenarios about Pitch Timer violations happened in the postseason.
Teams would adjust to this new format too. They’d build their rosters differently for each round and use their pitchers differently.
In sports, the answer to a problem is often make it faster and create more offense.
In basketball, a shot clock and the 3-pointer made the college and NBA games better.
In the NFL, protecting star quarterbacks makes the game better. The NFL will restructure its commercial structure for faster games next season too.
In baseball, adding a timer to MLB’s Home Run Derby made it better. Adding a Pitch Timer to MLB games this year made it better.
So let’s do the same thing with the postseason.
Let’s eliminate a lot of the dead time between games. More action leads to better action.
What changes would you make?
Good luck talking owners into lopping off regular season games. Not gonna happen. That idea's been run up the owners flagpole before. I think you are right concerning 150 games...but it aint gonna happen in our lifetime, I do not believe.
Why play 162 games in ~180 days, and then have your best, and biggest games interrupted when players are used to the day-to-day work and grind. Baseball has somehow found a way to make its season even longer, less noteworthy when other sports have figured it out. Shorten the regular season to 150 games (you're telling me you won't get the best 12 teams out of 30 in 12 less games, cmon!), speed up the postseason, and you're finished by Oct. 20. This is typical ... baseball's postseason is now overshadowed by NFL, college football, and the NBA -- all of which have far more fans drawing the attention. Speeding up the season - and postseason - makes it better for fans to watch.