With MLB and the players union talking about realignment, here is my proposal.
Eliminate the leagues and go to five six-team divisions. Six team divisions are excellent for scheduling in a 162 game season. Teams would play 18 games against division opponents, accounting for 90 games. Each division would play two other divisions on a rotating basis. For example, in year one the match-ups might look like this:
- Division 1 plays divisions 2 and 3.
- Division 2 plays divisions 1 and 4.
- Division 3 plays divisions 1 and 5.
- Division 4 plays divisions 2 and 5.
- Division 5 plays divisions 3 and 4.
Then rotate every year, so the rotation for division one would be two and three, three and four, two and four, two and five, three and five. This way, a team plays one division two years in a row, but brings in a new set of opponents as well. Teams would play each inter-division opponent six times, a home and home series. That would account for 72 games for a total of 162.
The five division winners make the playoffs. You can then have the top three second place teams get in, or, since MLB wants to add teams, the wild card team with the best record gets a bye, and the other four teams play for the final two spots. Then the playoffs are seeded by finish and record, with all first place seeds higher than all wild cards. Each round, the playoffs are reseeded so the highest remaining seed plays the lowest.
If MLB wants to limit travel, it would probably be best to put all six west coast teams in one division. If not, the Astros would move into what is now the NL West, and the Royals and Twins would move into what is now the AL West. That division would then have three west coast teams and three west of the Mississippi teams.
I’d put Cleveland into what is now the AL East and Pittsburgh into what is now the NL East. That leaves the Whtie Sox and Tigers to combine with the Cubs, Cardinals, Reds, and Brewers in the Central division. Of course, if you want to separate the two Chicago teams, the White Sox could swap with Toronto.
(I’m not married to any particular division alignment. I would be quite happy with a division that included the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Rays and Braves.)
The home team manager would get to decide if the teams used a designated hitter on a per game basis. For example, if a manager was starting a pitcher like Micah Owings, against a team with David Ortiz as the DH, he might figure he has the advantage if the pitchers batting.
What do you think?
Not a fan at all. The leagues aren’t (and shouldn’t) go anywhere. They are a legacy in baseball, and should stay in place. Additionally, I’m sick already of the overdone intradivision play.
You lost me at eliminating the leagues, as well as not finalizing one way or the other the DH question (obviously, I’m on the side of eliminating the NL’s 38-year retro-ball exemption).
I believe your DH proposal would have the exact same effect as universally implementing the DH across all of baseball. Because of the cost of carrying a DH (and you’d have to have one regardless), teams would very quickly develop a gentleman’s agreement that it is always used.
I am quite content with the current situation. Not a fan of eliminating the leagues, they’ve been around so long that I feel they are not only part of baseball history, but also American history.
Yes, there is one four team division & one six team division. Unfair? Life isn’t fair. And life is baseball. Unless you are willing to always have an interleague series. Hey, how about eliminating interleague play except for those #15 teams?
The leagues aren’t going anywhere. Right now baseball desperately needs the attendance boost from interleague play. We’re well into our fourth straight year of attendance declines. A lot of interleague games still sell tickets, which is more than you can say about too many baseball games.
The only change I would favor is a second wild card team in each league with one-game playoffs between the wild cards. Three good things happen:
1) More teams are perceived to have a chance for the playoffs as the season goes on. This maintains fan interest and might sell a few tickets.
2) The recent one-game play-ins have been dramatic and effective ads for baseball. (Has Holliday touched the plate yet?)
3) It toughens the way to the Series for the wild-card teams. Which is something that should have been done when the wild card was first introduced.
–add two teams to the American League;
–switch to two eight team divisions in each league, with the top two teams in each division making the playoffs;
–each team plays each team in its own division 10 times (5 home, 5 away);
–each team plays the other division in its league six times (3 home, 3 away)
–each team plays each team in the other league twice (1 two game series home or away, alternating years);
–therefore 150 game season, playoffs start in late September;
–first round is best of seven, team with the best record in each league picks their opponent (probably usually the one with the worst record, but not necessarily). Other rounds are as before, with home field in the WS being either alternating years or to the team with the best overall record (kill Bud’s stupid All-Star gimmick);
–standardize the DH rule: the simultaneous existence of varying rules and interleague play is screwing up competitive balance, and everyone knows it. Fix it.
MSE » That works for me, too. I’d even shift the teams every few years to give less competitive teams a chance to make the playoffs.
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I think yours is a creative and elegant idea. I’ve been having a little fun the past ten minutes playing around with my own variants. Sure, there are some things I’d miss about the current setup, but there are many I wouldn’t miss.
Thanks for the idea!
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