Only 1.5 games back in the WildCard

[Red Bird Classic]

Get your playoff fever while you can!

Crazy that the team is in the exact same spot 3 months later.

A testament to the mediocrity of wild card baseball. MLB should never have let that horse out of the barn.

The power of TV money and a testament to the mediocrity of many fans.

[cardinalsfever44]

Get your playoff fever while you can!

Crazy that the team is in the exact same spot 3 months later.

A testament to the mediocrity of wild card baseball. MLB should never have let that horse out of the barn.

The power of TV money and a testament to the mediocrity of many fans.

You know what would be great for the fans? Two teams from each league make the playoffs and 75% of the teams are out of the race by the end of June each year! Fans would be going crazy and watching and caring about their teams more than ever before!

As I noted in an earlier post on this thread, MLB still has the least # and % of teams in its league make the playoffs of any American sport. The setup is fine and keeps fans of most teams engaged throughout most of the season, which is good for the sport.

[BigBoy12]

MLB allowing so many teams into the playoffs has ruined their trade deadline which used to be the most exciting in professional sports. I'm not saying that's a bad thing necessarily but there are too many teams who are "in it" on August 1st.

Nootbar and May should probably still be traded and not sure that impacts the playoff hopes either.

[Red Bird Classic]

Get your playoff fever while you can!

Crazy that the team is in the exact same spot 3 months later.

A testament to the mediocrity of wild card baseball. MLB should never have let that horse out of the barn.

The power of TV money and a testament to the mediocrity of many fans.

You know what would be great for the fans? Two teams from each league make the playoffs and 75% of the teams are out of the race by the end of June each year! Fans would be going crazy and watching and caring about their teams more than ever before!

As I noted in an earlier post on this thread, MLB still has the least # and % of teams in its league make the playoffs of any American sport. The setup is fine and keeps fans of most teams engaged throughout most of the season, which is good for the sport.

There are many good reasons why baseball isn't like the NBA. Your analogy compares two things to argue they should be treated the same way. But the NBA and MLB are fundamentally different systems: While the NBA plays 82 games, and individual superstar players can dominate. The MLB plays a massive 162-game season specifically designed to let the long-term averages separate the truly great teams from the mediocre ones. Because the mechanics of baseball are different, what is "reasonable" for basketball cannot be copy-pasted onto baseball.

Your reasoning is also illogical.

If NBA decides to have 80% of their teams in the playoffs, this does not mean it's reasonable for baseball to have 75%. Such a claim is a logical fallacy: relative filth-- the idea that just because Bill jumped off a 100 foot tall building, it's okay for Steve to leap from a 50-foot one. Two wrongs do not make a right. Or being less wrong doesn't make Steve's jumping off a 50 foot building right.

College football's far lower percentage of teams making the playoffs doesn't seem to hurt the sport's popularity with fans.

Baseball fans were fine when they had only 4 teams make the playoffs and also with 8 playoff teams. Additional playoff spots were not needed to keep fans interested but instead to increase profits.

[cardinalsfever44]

Get your playoff fever while you can!

Crazy that the team is in the exact same spot 3 months later.

A testament to the mediocrity of wild card baseball. MLB should never have let that horse out of the barn.

The power of TV money and a testament to the mediocrity of many fans.

You know what would be great for the fans? Two teams from each league make the playoffs and 75% of the teams are out of the race by the end of June each year! Fans would be going crazy and watching and caring about their teams more than ever before!

As I noted in an earlier post on this thread, MLB still has the least # and % of teams in its league make the playoffs of any American sport. The setup is fine and keeps fans of most teams engaged throughout most of the season, which is good for the sport.

College football's far lower percentage of teams making the playoffs doesn't seem to hurt the sport's popularity with fans.

Baseball fans were fine when they had only 4 teams make the playoffs and also with 8 playoff teams. Additional playoff spots were not needed to keep fans interested but instead to increase profits.

There are many good reasons why baseball isn't like the NBA. Your analogy compares two things to argue they should be treated the same way. But the NBA and MLB are fundamentally different systems: While the NBA plays 82 games, and individual superstar players can dominate. The MLB plays a massive 162-game season specifically designed to let the long-term averages separate the truly great teams from the mediocre ones. Because the mechanics of baseball are different, what is "reasonable" for basketball cannot be copy-pasted onto baseball.

Your reasoning is also illogical.

If NBA decides to have 80% of their teams in the playoffs, this does not mean it's reasonable for baseball to have 75%. Such a claim is a logical fallacy: relative filth-- the idea that just because Bill jumped off a 100 foot tall building, it's okay for Steve to leap from a 50-foot one. Two wrongs do not make a right. Or being less wrong doesn't make Steve's jumping off a 50 foot building right.

So your argument is that if baseball were to roll it back to 4 playoff teams total, the sport would thrive because of it? I disagree.

And to feed off your lecturing of me, what worked 50-75 years ago for baseball doesn't necessarily mean it's the best choice now. The world has changed. People have changed. There are so many more entertainment choices for people to make in 2026 as opposed to 1970 or even 1990.

Yes, MLB teams play 162 games because it's a sport that can be played each and every day and features new starting pitchers and relievers each day. Sure, MLB plays double the games as the NBA and NHL, but a top starting pitcher for an MLB team will only feature in 20% of the season for their respective team. The MLB season length overall is still just 7 months, while the NHL sits at 8.5 months and the NBA sits at 8 months.

Also, we're not talking about college sports, we're talking about professional sports.

[alw80]

Everybody kinda sucks. This is parity.

[Red Bird Classic]

Get your playoff fever while you can!

Crazy that the team is in the exact same spot 3 months later.

A testament to the mediocrity of wild card baseball. MLB should never have let that horse out of the barn.

The power of TV money and a testament to the mediocrity of many fans.

You know what would be great for the fans? Two teams from each league make the playoffs and 75% of the teams are out of the race by the end of June each year! Fans would be going crazy and watching and caring about their teams more than ever before!

As I noted in an earlier post on this thread, MLB still has the least # and % of teams in its league make the playoffs of any American sport. The setup is fine and keeps fans of most teams engaged throughout most of the season, which is good for the sport.

College football's far lower percentage of teams making the playoffs doesn't seem to hurt the sport's popularity with fans.

Baseball fans were fine when they had only 4 teams make the playoffs and also with 8 playoff teams. Additional playoff spots were not needed to keep fans interested but instead to increase profits.

There are many good reasons why baseball isn't like the NBA. Your analogy compares two things to argue they should be treated the same way. But the NBA and MLB are fundamentally different systems: While the NBA plays 82 games, and individual superstar players can dominate. The MLB plays a massive 162-game season specifically designed to let the long-term averages separate the truly great teams from the mediocre ones. Because the mechanics of baseball are different, what is "reasonable" for basketball cannot be copy-pasted onto baseball.

Your reasoning is also illogical.

If NBA decides to have 80% of their teams in the playoffs, this does not mean it's reasonable for baseball to have 75%. Such a claim is a logical fallacy: relative filth-- the idea that just because Bill jumped off a 100 foot tall building, it's okay for Steve to leap from a 50-foot one. Two wrongs do not make a right. Or being less wrong doesn't make Steve's jumping off a 50 foot building right.

So your argument is that if baseball were to roll it back to 4 playoff teams total, the sport would thrive because of it? I disagree.

And to feed off your lecturing of me, what worked 50-75 years ago for baseball doesn't necessarily means it's the best choice now. The world has changed. People have changed. There are so many more entertainment choices for people to make in 2026 as opposed to 1970 or even 1990.

Also, we're not talking about college sports, we're talking about professional sports.

College football, despite the history and connection to schools, is a professional sport, and has been at least since they started openly paying players.

You have presented zero evidence that baseball struggled because it had fewer playoff teams 30, 40, or 50 years ago.

I don't have the numbers here in front of me, but I'll willing to bet that baseball was at least as popular back then as it is today and probably more so. They added more playoffs because TV networks were willing to pay more money for more rounds. That was the reason plain and simple. It had nothing to do with fans losing interest or baseball losing popularity.

I don't really care how many playoff rounds baseball plays. What annoys me is CT fans adopting the idea that just making the playoffs is the goal.

"Get to the playoffs and anything can happen!"

While the statement is technically true, the odds on the last wild card team winning the WS are long. Not understanding this, some fans resist making trades that help the team in the future to preserve a miniscule chance of winning something now.

[JuanAgosto]

Everybody kinda sucks. This is parity.

Agreed. How baseball has deteriorated over the last twenty years is unreal.

[alw80]

Everybody kinda sucks. This is parity.

Agreed. How baseball has deteriorated over the last twenty years is unreal.

This is what people claim they want.

[JuanAgosto]

Everybody kinda sucks. This is parity.

Agreed. How baseball has deteriorated over the last twenty years is unreal.

This is what people claim they want.

Honestly, I love expanded playoffs. My issue is the lack of fundamentals and boring 3 outcome at bats. Its lame. Diminished crowds back that up.

[dugoutrex]

Last year's playoffs and World Series was the best in decades ... baseball is doing just fine!

[cardinalsfever44]

Get your playoff fever while you can!

Crazy that the team is in the exact same spot 3 months later.

A testament to the mediocrity of wild card baseball. MLB should never have let that horse out of the barn.

The power of TV money and a testament to the mediocrity of many fans.

You know what would be great for the fans? Two teams from each league make the playoffs and 75% of the teams are out of the race by the end of June each year! Fans would be going crazy and watching and caring about their teams more than ever before!

As I noted in an earlier post on this thread, MLB still has the least # and % of teams in its league make the playoffs of any American sport. The setup is fine and keeps fans of most teams engaged throughout most of the season, which is good for the sport.

College football's far lower percentage of teams making the playoffs doesn't seem to hurt the sport's popularity with fans.

Baseball fans were fine when they had only 4 teams make the playoffs and also with 8 playoff teams. Additional playoff spots were not needed to keep fans interested but instead to increase profits.

There are many good reasons why baseball isn't like the NBA. Your analogy compares two things to argue they should be treated the same way. But the NBA and MLB are fundamentally different systems: While the NBA plays 82 games, and individual superstar players can dominate. The MLB plays a massive 162-game season specifically designed to let the long-term averages separate the truly great teams from the mediocre ones. Because the mechanics of baseball are different, what is "reasonable" for basketball cannot be copy-pasted onto baseball.

Your reasoning is also illogical.

If NBA decides to have 80% of their teams in the playoffs, this does not mean it's reasonable for baseball to have 75%. Such a claim is a logical fallacy: relative filth-- the idea that just because Bill jumped off a 100 foot tall building, it's okay for Steve to leap from a 50-foot one. Two wrongs do not make a right. Or being less wrong doesn't make Steve's jumping off a 50 foot building right.

So your argument is that if baseball were to roll it back to 4 playoff teams total, the sport would thrive because of it? I disagree.

And to feed off your lecturing of me, what worked 50-75 years ago for baseball doesn't necessarily means it's the best choice now. The world has changed. People have changed. There are so many more entertainment choices for people to make in 2026 as opposed to 1970 or even 1990.

Also, we're not talking about college sports, we're talking about professional sports.

College football, despite the history and connection to schools, is a professional sport, and has been at least since they started openly paying players.

You have presented zero evidence that baseball struggled because it had fewer playoff teams 30, 40, or 50 years ago.

I don't have the numbers here in front of me, but I'll willing to bet that baseball was at least as popular back then as it is today and probably more so. They added more playoffs because TV networks were willing to pay more money for more rounds. That was the reason plain and simple. It had nothing to do with fans losing interest or baseball losing popularity.

I don't really care how many playoff rounds baseball plays. What annoys me is CT fans adopting the idea that just making the playoffs is the goal.

"Get to the playoffs and anything can happen!"

While the statement is technically true, the odds on the last wild card team winning the WS are long. Not understanding this, some fans resist making trades that help the team in the future to preserve a miniscule chance of winning something now.

So is your argument that MLB would be more popular with fans in the year 2026 if playoff spots were eliminated?

[cardinalsfever44]

Everybody kinda sucks. This is parity.

Agreed. How baseball has deteriorated over the last twenty years is unreal.

This is what people claim they want.

Honestly, I love expanded playoffs. My issue is the lack of fundamentals and boring 3 outcome at bats. Its lame. Diminished crowds back that up.

Agree with this. The problem is how do we fix it? Pitching has just become almost too good, with upper 90's heat and insane movement very common. I honestly don't know how it can be fixed without major changes to the game. Lower the mound again?

[alw80]

Everybody kinda sucks. This is parity.

Agreed. How baseball has deteriorated over the last twenty years is unreal.

This is what people claim they want.

Honestly, I love expanded playoffs. My issue is the lack of fundamentals and boring 3 outcome at bats. Its lame. Diminished crowds back that up.

The expanded playoffs have made the regular season almost meaningless and analytics, while valuable, have made baseball less enjoyable to watch.

[JuanAgosto]

Everybody kinda sucks. This is parity.

Agreed. How baseball has deteriorated over the last twenty years is unreal.

This is what people claim they want.

Honestly, I love expanded playoffs. My issue is the lack of fundamentals and boring 3 outcome at bats. Its lame. Diminished crowds back that up.

The expanded playoffs have made the regular season almost meaningless and analytics, while valuable, have made baseball less enjoyable to watch.

I agree with your analytics opinion. The expanded playoffs at least keep it more interesting.

[JuanAgosto]

Everybody kinda sucks. This is parity.

Agreed. How baseball has deteriorated over the last twenty years is unreal.

This is what people claim they want.

Honestly, I love expanded playoffs. My issue is the lack of fundamentals and boring 3 outcome at bats. Its lame. Diminished crowds back that up.

Agree with this. The problem is how do we fix it? Pitching has just become almost too good, with upper 90's heat and insane movement very common. I honestly don't know how it can be fixed without major changes to the game. Lower the mound again?

Small ball. Contact, running game, sacrifices. Add some action.