MLB Wild Card Games …. Home field advantage
- Thread starter Nittering Nabob
- Start date
Win more games next year and you get a better seed. No room for travel days in this format at this stage. Maybe I could see 2 and 1 (which would give game 3 advantage to the lower seeded team), but it's a 3 game series - either at home or on the road. They play them all season long.
Here's a solution! Talk the owners and networks into reverting back to a 154 game schedule so we can have time for more drawn out playoff series'. That'll go over well.
My neighbor and I were talking about this yesterday. I’ve coached a couple guys who made it to the big leagues and depending on how the union and owners go about it, there could be some big changes with the next labor agreement.
There’s always the salary cap and salary floor items, but some other big issues that are going to be on the table are expansion to places like Salt Lake, Portland, and Nashville; changing daily roster sizes by adding one more so that teams can carry an extra pitcher, and then like you mentioned a scaling back of the schedule 154 games.
IMHO, baseball does NOT need to expand! There are 3-4 teams right now who are struggling to win 50-60 games. Colorado, ChiSox, and Washington were the three worst, with Minny and Pittsburgh barely over 70. Almost half the league finished .500 or worse. The NFL and the NBA are the same way. Also, free agency has destroyed professional sports. I'm not against it, per se, but, the HUGE $$$ teams rule the roost. The salary cap means crap anymore.
If baseball had 16 teams in the current financial environment, you could still have those 3-4 awful teams. It's not the size of the league, it's the financial structure that's hurting the competitive balance.
The NBA's cap helps some of these issues, but there are so many workaround with it that teams are still able to put together pretty stacked rosters (though they then pay the price for it in the future).
The salary cap means a lot in the NFL...sure, teams can kick the can down the road to some degree, but they eventually pay a price for doing so. But "HUGE $$$ teams" have no advantage.
And what does "almost half the league finished .500 or worse" mean? Wouldn't we always expect half the league to finish .500 or worse?
In the live ball era the previous worst season in terms of run differential was the 1932 Red Sox at -345. Rockies this year were -424.
I agree with ya 100% about the financial structure. The big city giants are ruling the roost. And it makes my point about expansion. Not gonna make a difference.
Well at least the BIG $ METS were replaced in playoffs by smaller market Cincy. Though it still stands that those with the $$$ will remain in contention each year and the small market teams will keep offloading their talent they can't afford to sign.
Baseball changed a lot when TV money became more important than the fan experience. The shrinking of ballparks over the years shows that the owners don't want to put 60k fans in the seats. They're happy w/ 25k. Or in the Marlin's case 8k.
Glad you brought up the almost half the league thing. I was going to say the same, mathematically around half the league is always going to finish below 500. A few years ago it was the Astros losing over 100 games than the Orioles and plenty of others. If they do get some type of salary cap and floor then they absolutely could expand as instead of the Dodgers or Yankees or Mets having an All-Star team, you could have a couple of each of those players move on and be the stars on the new teams and then couple that with Young talent that seems to be getting through the minors much quicker in recent years and I don’t think you’ll see a drop off.
As far as the complaints that MLB doesn't have enough pitching for expansion...6 straight years of overall batting average in the .240s. Maybe we need to get some more bad pitchers up to the majors!
<edit> Meant to add this link - https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/bat.shtml
<edit> Meant to add this link - https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/bat.shtml
Last edited:
One of the articles that I posted from ESPN talked about the fact that while contracts like Ohtani/Soto kill the balance (when only a few clubs could afford them), it was the Dodgers signing Tanner Scott for $18 million/year that really made people realize how bad things are...they added him to an already stacked team full of stars and a loaded bullpen. He's be the highest paid pitcher on many teams, but was the Dodgers 11th highest paid player and 6th highest paid pitcher.
The rosters are too big as they are, but we'll never make any headway w/ the player's association there. Expansion should come w/ roster reduction, or not at all.
It’s better than when there was a one off game, and the two away teams are the 2nd and 3rd place also rans. Be happy they are provided an opportunity.
Other than $$$ (which includes the additional fan interest), there isn’t a reason more than one wild card team is necessary.
I love the format!!! Three great games today. Look at Wrigley Field tonight....pure baseball. CBP is going to be EPIC!!!
This Cubs reliever is falling apart. A home run, a strike 3 that wasn’t even close which gave him his only out and then 2 hit batsmen. Should be bases loaded, no outs
This was the “out”
This was the “out”
The Dodgers are the major hurdle and they are next.
I wonder why this group of teams made the playoffs? 
. Whether Bryce Harper and the players want it or not, the MLB needs a salary cap in the worst way. I’m willing to accept a strike and work stoppage to work towards getting one, or at least, a minimum salary floor for all teams. It’s long overdue. And no, MLB does not need more teams.
. Whether Bryce Harper and the players want it or not, the MLB needs a salary cap in the worst way. I’m willing to accept a strike and work stoppage to work towards getting one, or at least, a minimum salary floor for all teams. It’s long overdue. And no, MLB does not need more teams.
MLB payrolls 2025: Full list of every baseball team from highest to lowest
Here's a look at MLB's team-by-team payrolls. The figures, compiled by USA TODAY, reflect the present-day value of contracts.
www.usatoday.com
Last edited:
Yup. They are definitely the most talented team. We’ve got to get to those trash middle relievers and pound them consistently. Don’t need guys following Casey’s lead and swinging at first pitch trash
Problem there is sometimes one of the top 2 is only top 2 because their division is garbage.
Well, the third best division winner plays in the wild card round. The two better division winners get a bye.
Baseball is a game of stats. Changing the number of games makes things difficult.
Last night I heard announcers talk about Stanton being tied with Mantle for most career post season home runs. Of course when Mantle played there were no wildcard, ALDS, or ALCS games. You either made the world series or you didn't. The world series ended by mid October, not November.
You're right. I got off track of what I wanted to say, about how bad a few organizations are and have trouble paying big salaries in todays game. But some teams have continuously bad seasons, and don't seem to care.
Statistically, half the teams should finish 500 or below. I don't believe MLB has a salary cap. However, your main point is correct. $$$ rules in MLB probably more than any of the other sports.
In 1997 Wayne Huizenga spent a small fortune to build a competitive Florida Marlins team. He won a world series and lost a fortune in the process. Then he sold off his expensive players.
I don't think it's that owners don't care. They just don't like losing money. They'd prefer to field a team that can at least break even to losing a ton of money year after year in hopes of making the playoffs.
Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Phillies, etc have $300 million payrolls but they are also in big markets with bit fan bases and advertising opportunities. Teams like Tampa Bay and the Athletics have $80 million payrolls because that's what their markets can afford.
In college football PSU is like San Francisco or Toronto. Certainly in the upper tier but well behind the Dodgers, Mets, and Phillies.
Dodgers are going to go with starters as relievers. Kershaw may pitch in relief, Sheehan as well although he was terrible in his last outing. Dodger also have Sasaki to close who was not available all season (started a few games then got hurt) to close and has looked dominant lately.
Wow....unbelievable! There is too much disparity between the top and bottom teams. We need something to balance this out.I wonder why this group of teams made the playoffs?
MLB payrolls 2025: Full list of every baseball team from highest to lowest
Here's a look at MLB's team-by-team payrolls. The figures, compiled by USA TODAY, reflect the present-day value of contracts.www.usatoday.com
- The Mets should be ashamed not even making the playoffs.
- The Dodgers deferred salary payments can't be sustainable ......can they?
- Way to go Reds. 22nd out of 30 and field a solid team