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Brief notes on a terrible and poorly thought-out MLB playoff system

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A long, long road

This road, like the playoffs suggested below, would probably be no fun to travel in cleats and long pants. (John Rawlinson/Wikimedia)

Every few weeks since MLB announced expanded playoffs for the Covid-truncated 2020 season, debate over expansion's merits and faults have cropped up on Lookout Landing.

At some point in reading the debate, I came up with an entirely new playoff system. At first I thought, "Brilliant!" Immediately after I thought, "Yikes." But, I've been thinking about it for a few weeks—maybe months—so I'm sharing it here, if only to exorcise it and make room for something else.

All inclusive playoffs

In an effort to fix (Or exacerbate. I don't understand MLB teams' motivations well enough to say one way or the other) the problem of tanking, every team gets in. All 30 of ‘em.

Then, the world's longest* playoffs begin. In each league only one matchup plays at a time, starting with the teams with the two worst records. The winner of that three-game series advances to face the team with the third worst record. The winner of that three-game series advances to face the team with the fourth worst record. The winner of that three-game series advances to face the team with the fifth...You get it.

At some point (after nine rounds let's say), each series becomes five games. The league championship series (round 14) is seven games, as is the World Series.

Essentially, the more games you win in the regular season, the more byes you get. If you're one of the worst two teams in the league, you have to beat everyone else to get to the World Series.

Terrible Playoff Bracket

The bracket's form reveals its nature: a long, slow, uphill climb that no one enjoys.

Pros and cons

Pro: It incentivizes a strong regular season record. The best record in the league gets an automatic spot in the League Championship Series! That's pretty good. You only have to win four games to get to the big dance, baby! Way better than the team at the bottom which has to win 34.

Pro: Everybody's got a chance. Are last year's Texas Rangers going to win 34 games and make it to the World Series? Probably not. Could they? Sure! Who doesn't love a Cinderella story?

Con: Length. The Dodgers completed their 2020 post-season campaign in right around 30 days. Let's say, for brevity's sake each series is played in its entirety at the better team's home stadium (another incentive to win in the regular season). We'll give one day for travel between the end of the series and the start of the next. It would take the Rangers 74 days (all on the road) to win a World Series (assuming the World Series went seven games). If we don't shorten the regular season, that means the playoffs end in mid-December. If the World Series is played in Cleveland, we can assume it ends in mid-January when we finally get enough snow-free days.

Con: Too much rest? In 2020, the Rays and the Dodgers would have to wait over 60 days between ending the regular season and their first playoff game.

Pro: I'm guessing the top teams would institute a fall training and another excuse for northern fans to escape to snow-free, balmy environs.

Pro: The Mariners (and everyone else) end their playoff drought.

Con: The Mariners end their playoff drought. It's the one thing they've got going for them!

Pro: Playoff revenue, which I can't imagine would ever start to flag in the two and a half months this monstrosity drags on. We can finally put to rest the law myth of diminishing returns.**

Pro: We're gonna need a bigger roster. A few more minor league guys get paid.

Con: This perfect playoff system exposes once and for all the meaninglessness of striving for excellence in baseball. The extra forty days of baseball breaks the spirit of fans and player alike. MLB enters a death spiral and collapses in on itself.

Pro: After sitting through a few years of this, we don't miss it.

In conclusion

In writing this out, I'm back on board and enthusiastic. I'm throwing my hat in the ring for MLB commissioner 2021. The other planks of my platform are expanding the Hall of Fame to include every player to enter a game at the MLB level and playing games in full SCUBA gear as was mentioned in the comments sometime last year.

Got other pros and cons? Drop them in the comments. Like and subscribe.

*cannot confirm

**not an economist

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