MLB's Plan to Expand Postseason in 2020 Is a Great Move
The Major League Baseball Players Association has agreed to the league's proposal for an expanded postseason in 2020. The deal was agreed to just hours before the first pitch of the MLB season was thrown. The new format should add excitement to the shortened season, with more playoff slots up for grabs.
The union has approved the agreement discussed with MLB for expanded playoffs, only for the 2020 postseason; that agreement is now subject only to ratification by the owners, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/HFmaEQ8Npk
— Marly Rivera (@MarlyRiveraESPN) July 23, 2020
The new format must be approved by the owners, but that feels like a formality at this point. It will include 16 teams instead of 10 and would likely eliminate the one-game wild card matchups. There are more details below:
Interesting wrinkle in the 16-team playoff format: All second-place teams in the six divisions qualify. Then the 7th and 8th teams will be chosen by best record among other teams.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 23, 2020
If you're wondering why the players jumped on the offer, they negotiated a bonus pool of $50 million. The league's offer last month never topped $25 million. That's right, the owners wanted this so badly they doubled the offer to expand the postseason.
I know this format will be weird for some fans but, frankly, 2020 has been weird. Let's just embrace it. This opens the door to a ton of postseason possibilities and once teams reach the playoffs anything can happen.
After baseball wasted months deciding whether or not to actually have a season in 2020, the sport likely lost some fans. It was a truly ridiculous process that turned a lot of people off. Expanding the playoffs and giving fans of a ton of teams more hope for a postseason run could get some people back.
This was the smart, sensible move for everyone involved. And with baseball having a shorter season, it's an excuse to fit in extra games. More baseball is never a bad thing.