Radical playoff proposal (talking piece)

[Mike Sixel]

It's the boring time of MLB........so as a thought experiment, I am posting a radical idea.....this is meant as a thought, fun, discussion, not some kind of super serious proposal....

 

1. Cut the season by 2 weeks, likely 8 games or so.

2. Change the playoffs so every team makes it, but there is great value in winning in the regular season.

3. This gives every fan something to look forward to for their team. The game is about entertainment, nothing more or less than that. "Fair" playoffs don't really exist, if you use them to determine the "best" team. The data on that is all over the internet if you look.

 

Here is the proposal:

Week 1:

Round 1

15 vs 14, one game (Sunday night in AL league, Monday in NL)

 

Round 2

14 vs 11, one game (Tuesday in AL, Wednesday in NL)

13 vs 12, one game

 

Round 3

12 vs 5, 2 games (top ranked team only has to win 1 game) (Thursday, Friday in AL, Friday Saturday in NL)
11 vs 6, 2 games (top ranked team only has to win 1 game)
10 vs 7, 2 games (top ranked team only has to win 1 game)
9 vs 8, 2 games (top ranked team only has to win 1 game)

 

Week 2:

8 vs 1 3 games, (top ranked team only has to win 1 game)
7 vs 2 3 games, (top ranked team only has to win 1 game)
6 vs 3 3 games, (top ranked team only has to win 1 game)
5 vs 4 3 games

 

week 3:

4 vs 1, 5 games
3 vs 2, 5 games

 

week 4

1 vs 2, 5 games

 

Now, you can monkey with this some, and give the division winners another bye round, but that extends the playoffs out too much, imo.

 

the Division winners get a week off.....and might only have to play 1 game in week 2. This, to me, is the weakest part of the plan........There is an even more bizarre version that is more double elimination, where everyone is playing a lot more often, but it is a bit complex and I need to work on it more.

[REPETE]

I say cut the season by 2 weeks (8 games), and leave the playoffs as is.  God forbid the Twins ever make the World Series, we'll be wearing snowmobile suits to watch "the boys of summer".

I know this was just in fun, but adding a wild card round was abysmal to me.  The 1 game play in somewhat fixes that, but I'd rather not see any more playoff teams, especially if it means division winners sitting around for 2-3 weeks.  Sano will gain 28 lbs in that time!