Choose Your Own Adventure

Hey,

One of the biggest draws of sports at every level is the idea that anything can happen. This uncertainty fuels rabid fandom across the world, leading to heartbreaking losses and triumphant victories of all kinds. Unfortunately for baseball fans, that may not be happening much longer.

MLB is considering moving from 10 playoff teams to 14 playoff teams beginning in the 2022 season. The team with the best record in the AL and NL would received a first round bye, and the team in 2nd would then choose who out of 5th, 6th, and 7th that they would like to face in the first round of the playoffs in a live television event similar to NCAA Selection Sunday. 3rd would pick next, and 4th place would have whatever team was left over. Then the first round of the playoffs would begin.

Anyone who’s a fan of sports knows how important matchups are. This new setup would essentially remove the guesswork and intrigue of these matchups and allow the higher seeds to cherry pick which wildcard team they’d like to mow down in the playoffs. If you’re trying to avoid a team that got red hot right as the playoffs are starting, easy. If you’re trying to hide your suspect pitching by avoiding the team with the liveliest bats, even better.

What is sports without any upsets? We’re about to find out very soon.

MLB plotting playoff expansion — with reality TV twist — nypost.com
All of this has MLB thinking about increasing its playoff content with the belief it will boost interest among fans and broadcast partners.