Sports

Do You Agree With MLB Having Two Wild Cards?

Justin Welton –

Maybe I think highly of expanding the Major League Baseball playoffs because I am a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, and I’m tired of seeing my team out of it by June (other than this past year), but there are several other teams that would greatly benefit by playoff expansion.

Half the league is pretty much out of playoff contention before it technically hits summer.

Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Washington are examples of teams that would greatly profit from an additional wild card spot.

Instead, these teams have a minuscule chance of making the postseason because of pre-existing issues with the sport like financial issues. Major League Baseball
gives a clear advantage to teams like the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox, all of which command the highest payrolls in the league.

The more you spend, the more likely you are to make the playoffs.

With 162 games to a baseball season, the chances of a team like the Pirates making the postseason are extremely unlikely.

However, with another team given the opportunity to make the playoffs, teams like the Pirates and Orioles have a more realistic shot of making the postseason.

This would not only put more butts in seats in the middle of the season, but it would also create more attention for the game in the summer.

MLB is the main sport happening in the United States when the NBA Finals and NHL Finals conclude.

That just so happens to be the time when half of the league realizes they won’t be in contention for a playoff berth.

If there is another spot given to each league then more teams would be in the race in the dog-days of summer.

There are two wild card positions in the National Football League.

If they didn’t add wild card teams there would have never been a Green Bay Packers, New York Giants or Pittsburgh Steelers, all teams that won Super Bowls as
wildcards in the past handful of years.

Just think of the possibilities in baseball. What memorable runs have we missed without another team in the mix?

Maybe I could actually watch the Pirates in the postseason in my lifetime.

Maybe the Chicago Cubs could actually win a World Series for the first time since 1908.

Maybe a team like the Seattle Mariners could win a World Series or even their first American League Pennant.

The possibilities are endless. Another reason is because there are few teams in the race.

There were 12 teams out of 30 that had a legitimate shot of qualifying for a postseason berth in the month of August.

There would be 17-20 teams still in the mix with another wild card.

Baseball is considered one of the most boring sports in America.

I don’t necessarily agree, but I do understand how it could be boring to some.

Why not create more excitement to a “boring” sport?

Adding another playoff position would not only generate more excitement to the game of baseball, but it would add a feeling of titillation to the fans of teams
that are never engaged when the sport is at its best.

After all, sports are about the fans, right?

Michael Waterloo -

Looking back at the final day of baseball’s regular season, many were calling it the greatest day in the storied game’s history.

The Tampa Bay Rays were down 7-0 to the New York Yankees until Dan Johnson tied the game on a wall-scraping homerun to send the game into extra innings before
Evan Longoria would eventually hit the game-winning homerun in the 12th inning.

Switch over the Baltimore, where the Orioles came back to defeat the Red Sox and complete Boston’s historic September collapse, allowing the Rays to clinch the
wild card in the American League.

Not to be outdone by the Red Sox, the Braves’ September collapse also came to fruition as their loss to the Phillies paired with the win by the Cardinals over
the Astros, propelled the Cardinals to the National League wild card.

All this excitement came down to one game and with the positive reaction, Major League Baseball decided to make a change.

Starting no later than 2013, there will be two wild card teams in each league instead of one.

The change in format will also move the Houston Astros to the American League West so that there will be six divisions of five teams.

I’ve talked to many baseball fans that like this idea, but I can’t disagree with it more.

Since the wild card was introduced in 1995, the team with the best record in its respective league that didn’t win its division was awarded the final spot in
postseason play.

This format has worked and made for great postseason matchups in the past.

By introducing a second wild card position, baseball is evolving too much.

Baseball is often viewed as America’s pastime, but it is following the footsteps of the other major sports by allowing more teams to compete in postseason play.

In hockey and basketball, 16 teams are able to compete in the playoffs; some are often hovering around the .500 mark.

Baseball’s format has it set up so that only the eight best teams will be playing in October.

If the two wild card teams would play in a best-of-three or best-of-five game series, I would be fine with that.

What has me upset is the fact that the teams will fight through a 162-game season, only to have their fortune decided by one game.

For instance, in the American League East, the Red Sox and Yankees usually battle for the division crown or the wild card spot, as both usually win around 100
games for the season.

If the 89-win Minnesota Twins capture the second wild card and beat the Red Sox in their single game because Boston had an off day, their whole season was
wasted because of the new format.

This format doesn’t put more focus into winning the division because if you ask any manager at the beginning of the year, that is their first goal.

It also doesn’t help the cellar-dwellers such as the Pirates, Royals, Orioles or Nationals.

All this does is make the league more money and take away from the current playoff system that has worked well in the past.

So is baseball a marathon or a sprint?

I’ll let you decide.