Post by jimsteel on Mar 3, 2012 0:53:03 GMT -5
FROM AOL SPORTS
Major League Baseball made it official Friday: It will add another wild-card team to each league. Thus, the number of playoff teams grows from eight to 10.
As expected, the two wild card teams in each league will play each other in a one-game playoff, with the winners advancing to face the top-seeded team in each league’s best-of-5 Division Series.
However, there is a one-time wrinkle in the plan. Because the 2012 regular season and postseason schedules already were in place, there was a possibility of some scheduling conflicts. Therefore, the wild-card winner will host the first two games of the Division Series and the division winner will host the final three games (if Games 4 and 5 are necessary), in order to eliminate a travel day. That same 2-3 format will be used in the LDS matchups between the other division winners.
In 2013 and beyond, the higher-seeded team in each LDS will host Games 1, 2 and 5 (if necessary).
One other notable tweak: Teams from the same division will be able to play each other in the Division Series round, a change from the history of the LDS.
The baseball playoffs are expanding to 10 teams for the 2012 season and the LDS format will be tweaked as well. (AP Photo)
"I greatly appreciate the MLBPA's cooperation in putting the new postseason format in place this year," commissioner Bud Selig said, according to MLB.com. "The enthusiasm for the 10-team structure among our clubs, fans and partners has been overwhelming.
"This change increases the rewards of a division championship and allows two additional markets to experience playoff baseball each year, all while maintaining the most exclusive postseason in professional sports."
The playoff expansion was agreed upon in the new collective bargaining agreement, which was ratified in December. However, there was a possibility that the two additional wild cards wouldn't be added until 2013, when the Houston Astros move from the National League to the American League to create two 15-team leagues.
“The players are eager to begin playing under this new format in 2012 and they look forward to moving to full realignment in 2013. Our negotiating committee and the owners’ representatives worked hard to develop a schedule that should make for fairer competition and provide our fans with a very exciting season,” said Michael Weiner, the executive director of the MLB players’ union.
MLB.com notes the postseason expansion came to fruition nearly two years after Selig appointed a 14-member committee to study on-field improvements to the sport.
The changes to the postseason are the first since 1994 when MLB realigned from a four-division setup to a six-division setup and added a wild card in each league. Because of the work stoppage that season, however, the changes didn’t go into effect until the 1995 postseason.
Major League Baseball made it official Friday: It will add another wild-card team to each league. Thus, the number of playoff teams grows from eight to 10.
As expected, the two wild card teams in each league will play each other in a one-game playoff, with the winners advancing to face the top-seeded team in each league’s best-of-5 Division Series.
However, there is a one-time wrinkle in the plan. Because the 2012 regular season and postseason schedules already were in place, there was a possibility of some scheduling conflicts. Therefore, the wild-card winner will host the first two games of the Division Series and the division winner will host the final three games (if Games 4 and 5 are necessary), in order to eliminate a travel day. That same 2-3 format will be used in the LDS matchups between the other division winners.
In 2013 and beyond, the higher-seeded team in each LDS will host Games 1, 2 and 5 (if necessary).
One other notable tweak: Teams from the same division will be able to play each other in the Division Series round, a change from the history of the LDS.
The baseball playoffs are expanding to 10 teams for the 2012 season and the LDS format will be tweaked as well. (AP Photo)
"I greatly appreciate the MLBPA's cooperation in putting the new postseason format in place this year," commissioner Bud Selig said, according to MLB.com. "The enthusiasm for the 10-team structure among our clubs, fans and partners has been overwhelming.
"This change increases the rewards of a division championship and allows two additional markets to experience playoff baseball each year, all while maintaining the most exclusive postseason in professional sports."
The playoff expansion was agreed upon in the new collective bargaining agreement, which was ratified in December. However, there was a possibility that the two additional wild cards wouldn't be added until 2013, when the Houston Astros move from the National League to the American League to create two 15-team leagues.
“The players are eager to begin playing under this new format in 2012 and they look forward to moving to full realignment in 2013. Our negotiating committee and the owners’ representatives worked hard to develop a schedule that should make for fairer competition and provide our fans with a very exciting season,” said Michael Weiner, the executive director of the MLB players’ union.
MLB.com notes the postseason expansion came to fruition nearly two years after Selig appointed a 14-member committee to study on-field improvements to the sport.
The changes to the postseason are the first since 1994 when MLB realigned from a four-division setup to a six-division setup and added a wild card in each league. Because of the work stoppage that season, however, the changes didn’t go into effect until the 1995 postseason.
