Rob Manfred has been quite outspoken about the current playoff format. The MLB commissioner spoke of his success, deviating from the general opinion of the MLB Players’ Association, but believes that division winners are at a disadvantage.
The 14-team format was introduced two years ago. The Wild Card Series is played between three Wild Card teams and a division winner with the worst record. Teams then advance to the five-game division series and seven-game championship series.
The talking point circulated around the baseball world after the World Series game featured an 84-win team. Arizona Diamondbacks and a 90-win Texas Rangers team. Three teams with more than 100 regular season wins – the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers – were all eliminated in the Division Series.
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The MLBPA suggested increasing the division series, which is a best-of-five series. This was proposed in order to allow division winners to avoid any major upsets. But Rob Manfred highlighted the unpredictability that comes with the current 14-team format. Manfred praised the success of the playoff format ahead of the World Series opener:
“That conversation will happen after the season. There’s been enough written and said that we need to think about it and talk about it, but my opinion is that the format has served us pretty well.
“If the die was cast, which was, ‘If I win 100 in the regular season, I’m going to win the World Series,’ I don’t think it’s as interesting as what we saw last year. last month.”
Current playoff format is MLB’s attempt to keep October baseball interesting
Since Rob Manfred and his leadership took over the MLB front office, significant changes have taken place to make the sport more “exciting.” Certain rules persisted in the sport which made it less attentive to young audiences. There has also been a significant impact on the sport’s viewership in recent years. Thus, rule changes, such as the new playoff format, were introduced.
The Texas Rangers face the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 World Series.
