Since its inception in 1995, the Wild Card playoff format has been successful. The format changed baseball, but in the process increased competition. It divided each league into three divisions and increased the number of teams in the postseason from four to eight. Bob Costas and others do not support the current system. They want to eliminate the Wild Card and give one team a bye in each league, reducing the number of playoff spots to six. Twelve teams make the playoffs in the NFL, 16 in the NBA and NHL. Eight is a reasonable number. Baseball has proven this over the past five years.
In 2000, the AL Wild Card and the race in the West combined for the exciting finish baseball fans look forward to. The final days of the season produced multiple scenarios, none of which were decided until Sunday night. Baseball fans were lured in with the suspense of three teams battling for the final two playoff spots. Instead of pointing out this exciting race, it was noted (in another column in The Dartmouth) that last week's series between New York and Atlanta was pointless. The system proposed by Bob Costas would not solve this problem. Atlanta would still have won NL East, and New York would have been done for the season. Would Atlanta, St. Louis and San Francisco really be in heated competition for the proposed -- and ridiculous -- bye? By the suggested scenario two teams would play a best of seven series while another team waited. If the series went to completion this would take 10 or more days when TV and travel are taken into consideration. Two possible things could happen. The team with the bye actually benefits from the rest and has an unfair advantage over the team who just exhausted its pitching staff in the seven-game series. The other possibility is the team with the better record being "rewarded" with a bye gets rusty. Teams never get more than one day off during the season, let alone 10. Both of these scenarios have already happened when one series goes to completion and another team sweeps. Imagine the possibilities when the rest is increased from four day to ten days.
The proposed playoff format also claims to offer "four key races." The race for the best record has just been eliminated. Besides, a race for the best record exists within the current format -- the winner gets home field advantage. (Admittedly, home field advantage plays less of a role in baseball than other professional sports, but don't tell that to the Yankees and Jeff Maier.)
Teams would have more incentive for home field than 10 days off, which could help or hurt them. What's left with Costas' format are the three supposed divisional races.
While this season produced more races than the past and had an average division won by five games, a look at just the past two seasons proves divisional races are rarely close. The average divisional race was decided by 9.25 games in 1999 and 12.33 games in 1998.
A previous article in The Dartmouth used 1998 as an attack on the Wild Card system. Instead, '98 proves why the Wild Card works. Boston held the second best record in the American league at 92-70, better than both the other divisional leaders.
The Wild Card gave Boston their well-earned spot in the postseason instead of leaving them 22 games behind the record-setting Yankees. The '98 NL race produced one of the most exciting situations in baseball -- a one game playoff to decide who goes onto the playoffs and who goes home.
History proves the importance of these games. Every baseball fan knows about the famous home runs of Bobby Thompson in 1951 and Bucky Dent in 1978. Critics of the Wild Card complain about the confusion that almost occurs instead of the excitement that does happen.
It's difficult to see increasing the competitiveness and excitement of the postseason as a bad thing. The Wild Card brings more teams into the playoff hunt. This draws in more fans to the stadium and television.
The longer a team stays in a race, the longer fans will continue to show support. A perfect example comes from the Cleveland Indians this season.
While they clearly could not catch the league-leading White Sox, the Indians were able to remain in the Wild Card hunt until the last day of the season.
Once the race is decided, two additional teams are given the benefit of the national spotlight. They gain national attention. The teams also benefit financially from the post-season.
They generate increased revenue through the sales of tickets, merchandise, vending, and advertisements. If only the top six teams were allowed into the post-season, the large market teams would be at a further advantage.
The Wild Card gives a small market team a chance to make its way into the post-season and show it deserves to compete for the championship.
It's been shown that the Wild Card benefits the fans, the players, and the owners. The Wild Card is good for baseball. Argue against the DH, Astroturf and a balanced schedule, but the Wild Card stays.
