Playoff Changes for 2020 [Latest: 16 team playoff field likely here to stay]

[Eye Black]

MLB and the MLBPA have until first pitch of tomorrow night’s Yankees-Nationals game (6:08pm CT) to expand the playoffs for 2020. Reports suggest they are again discussing the possibility of expanding from the normal 10-team playoff field to a 16-team playoff scenario. Curious if others are in favor of this? On one hand it significantly increases the Brewers playoff odds, but on the other it will seemingly water down the playoff field. I guess in a year when the small sample size will cause irregularities as it is, maybe it’s the right move to just include more teams and let them fight it out in an expanded playoff format.

[MrTPlush]

I’d keep it standard...but that is just me.

[sveumrules]

Would also prefer they leave things as is for now, but I think it could be interesting if they went to seven playoff teams in each league.

 

Three division winners get byes to the DS, then you have a series of three consecutive winner take all wild card games.

 

Day 1: WC4 @ WC3

Day 2: D1 winner @ WC2

Day 3: D2 winner @ WC1

Day 4: Division Series begin

[owbc]

More teams in the playoffs please, this is a one-off season so why not have fun with it?

[sveumrules]

More teams in the playoffs please, this is a one-off season so why not have fun with it?

 

If they did go with eight playoff teams per league maybe the set up could be something like this...

 

WC8 @ DW1

WC7 @ DW2

WC6 @ DW3

 

To still get an advantage for winning the division these series would be structured so the Wild Card team has to sweep a three game road series against the Division Winner to move on, or the series is over once the Division Winner wins one game.

 

The just leave WC4 vs WC5 as a standard best of 3.

[djoctagone]

wasn't guaranteeing the designated hitter for 2021 also tied to getting expanded playoffs in 2020?

[Eye Black]

From Buster Olney...

 

As part of the 16-team expanded playoff proposal, the No. 1, 2, 3 seeds in each league— the Division winners— would pick their opponents among the other 5 teams, with a selection show.

[MVP2110]

I love it for this season only. I'm all in on getting weird

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I'm not a big fan of byes for baseball. I think it could screw you up more than anything. Byes make sense in single-elimination formats but not as much in a series. I'd be open to a bye if there was a chance you could go 100-62 and lose it all in one game (guess you can in the play-in).

 

The pick-your-opponent thing is kind of cool, but I still prefer just keeping it as is. I wouldn't hate either way.

[Madhawk23]

I love it for this season only. I'm all in on getting weird

 

Agreed! Let's get weird this season. What does it really hurt, since it's already going to be such an odd year.

[djoctagone]

wow. 16 of 30 teams get a postseason spot. wow.

[Eye Black]

The move to a 16-team playoff field in 2020 is now reportedly pending ownership approval. MLB and MLBPA agreed on a $50 million postseason bonus pool for players of the 16 teams that qualify. Again, sounds like it is up to the owners to make the decision now.

 

Jayson Stark reporting that all first round games would be best-of-3 series in which all three games would be played at home ballpark of higher seed.

 

According to ESPN's Marly Rivera:

 

More details obtained by ESPN on the 2020 expanded playoffs structure approved by the MLBPA, subject to owners' approval: "The first three “seeds” in each league will go to regular season division winners. The next three “seeds” (4-6) will go to the teams who finished in second place; “seeds” 7-8 will go to the remaining teams with the best records. If tiebreakers are needed, arrangements will be made with no additional games to be played.

[Eye Black]

With expanded playoffs it's really hard to imagine any team, aside from maybe the Orioles, being so bad that they are out of the playoff race by the trade deadline (Aug. 31).

[A Swing and A Drive]

Top 2 teams in each division make playoffs regardless of record? What. The. Actual. F.

 

Winning the division literally means nothing now.

 

Team with best record in each league gets pleasure of potentially losing a 3 game "series" against the 8th best team in the league, with all three games at home (with no fans).

[owbc]

Top 2 teams in each division make playoffs regardless of record? What. The. Actual. F.

 

Winning the division literally means nothing now.

 

I think it's the right thing to do in a 60-game season with an unbalanced schedule.

[A Swing and A Drive]

I guess on a positive note, the Brewers should be able to make the playoffs for 3 consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history!

[MrTPlush]

At least that selection show rumor didn’t end up happening...that was embarrassingly bad.

[Oxy]

There should be a much greater advantage for the 1-4 seeds.. I'd prolly make the first series a best of 5 series and give the top seeds a 1 game advantage to start. As it is, something silly is going to happen.

[Eye Black]

There should be a much greater advantage for the 1-4 seeds.. I'd prolly make the first series a best of 5 series and give the top seeds a 1 game advantage to start. As it is, something silly is going to happen.

Agree that there is almost no advantage for the division winners in this new playoff situation. It likely assures that whatever World Series matchup we would have had in the 10-team playoff format isn’t going to be the same we end up with in this scenario. Obviously not something we will know for sure unless a #6, #7, or #8 seed makes the WS, but this will accentuate the randomness aspect of the MLB playoffs.

[owbc]

This could have been resolved by making the lower seed (or at least the 6-7-8) win all 3 games to advance out of the first round.

 

I'll take a gimmicky postseason this year though since it should help the Brewers get in and have a chance at an upset.

[NYChez]

I guess on a positive note, the Brewers should be able to make the playoffs for 3 consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history!

Except there are only so many wins to go around between the Brewers, Cubs, Cardinals, and Reds. If two of those teams finish well above .500, it will be tough for either wildcard to come from the Central.

[Jimbo]

I guess on a positive note, the Brewers should be able to make the playoffs for 3 consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history!

Except there are only so many wins to go around between the Brewers, Cubs, Cardinals, and Reds. If two of those teams finish well above .500, it will be tough for either wildcard to come from the Central.

 

Beat up on the AL Central.

[MrTPlush]

I don’t mind it from a competitive standpoint (for the Brewers). I don’t think we are all that good and our chances in a normal set up wouldn’t be that great. This setup MASSIVELY screws a team like the Dodgers who would have almost surely won their division and have a huge advantage in 5 or 7 game series. Instead we could play them in only 3 games or someone else could and knock them out.

[brewcrewdue80]

Pretty watered down. This essentially stops a team like the Dodgers to flub out of the playoffs in 60games. So MLB will get the teams they want in the playoffs. One aside, which division in AL and NL do you see as the worst division? NL West? AL Central or East? Say it is the AL Central, you could watch 4 teams from NL central make playoffs. And 4 from AL West make the playoffs. I'd love to see this happen and all 4 teams wind up in the division championship. Take a Cincy over LA, Cubs over Nats, Brewers over Mets, and Cardinals over Rockies. Something where the seeding works out perfectly that not 1 of the 4 face eachother in the playoffs.

[NYChez]

I guess on a positive note, the Brewers should be able to make the playoffs for 3 consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history!

Except there are only so many wins to go around between the Brewers, Cubs, Cardinals, and Reds. If two of those teams finish well above .500, it will be tough for either wildcard to come from the Central.

 

Beat up on the AL Central.

Except we play 13 games against good-to-great AL Central teams and only 7 against the bad ones.