Big changes to MLB structure?

[conor912]

Just saw this article. Holy smokes. I know it's all up in the air, but my brain hurts just from thinking about it. Abolishing the two major leagues? Expansion? The Mets and Red Sox in the same division? Oy.
http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2017/10/17/major-league-baseball-considering-expansion-radical-realignment/

[steve B]

Montreal?
Nothing like expanding into a market where they considered just eliminating the team altogether.

And the realignment, and massive expansion of the playoffs.
I hardly ever watch Hockey or Basketball because half the league makes the playoffs. And the playoffs feel like they run as long as the season. (Just checked, and the NHL playoffs ran 2 months!)

Think about it, as it is the playoffs run too long.
In 1975 the series started on Oct 11, and stretched to Oct 22 with 7 games and a game delayed by rain.
This year it will start on the 24th and could run to Nov 1.

Will future generations hear about "Mr October" and assume he was good in the wild card games?

Steve B

[bravos4evr]

It seems like the people in charge of baseball aren't fans of baseball.

I could see going back to 154 games, but the last thing baseball needs is MORE playoffs, if anything they need to go to a two division 3 team structure where having the best record gets you into the CS and the other two teams play to see who meets you. Baseball is too random a game and too prone to tiny variables to have half the damn league making the tournament.

[Bill77]

How would eliminating the leagues affect the major awards every year? Would we have only 1 MVP, 1 Cy Young, and 1 Rookie of the Year? Or would we get 4 of each from each of the 4 new divisions?

And I totally agree more playoff games is not a good thing. I think they should cut 2 games from the Division series and the Championship series and just get to the damn World Series.

[conor912]

It seems like the people in charge of baseball aren't fans of baseball.

You're right. They're fans of money.

[conor912]

This kind of sea change might just ruin baseball for me. I already half heartedly pay attention as it is.

[clydepepper]

I'm thinking - NEW COKE circa 1985?

[packs]

There's almost a zero percent chance some of this stuff would happen. If you combine both leagues into regional divisions, what happens to the DH? The player's union would never allow the DH to be taken away, so you'd have to make the DH universal. You'd also annoy a bunch of cities with multiple teams and I don't see how you'd get ownership to agree to something like regional divisions. For example, the Mets and Yankees would never play each other in the World Series and the Subway Series would lose all it's luster. That's bad for NY business.

[conor912]

There's almost a zero percent chance some of this stuff would happen. If you combine both leagues into regional divisions, what happens to the DH? The player's union would never allow the DH to be taken away, so you'd have to make the DH universal. You'd also annoy a bunch of cities with multiple teams and I don't see how you'd get ownership to agree to something like regional divisions. For example, the Mets and Yankees would never play each other in the World Series and the Subway Series would lose all it's luster. That's bad for NY business.

I think many current NL owners, whether they'll admit it or not, wouldn't mind a universal DH. DH's hit HR's, which is, sadly, what sells these days....and I'd be reluctant to give the owners too much credit. If there is more money to be made AND it keeps the union happy, they're going to do it, regardless. I agree, though, that the NYC situation would be screwy. You can't really have two teams in the same city in the same division. In the end, even implementing half the changes outlined in that article would change the landscape of the game, let alone the whole enchilada.

[KMayUSA6060]

It seems like the people in charge of baseball aren't fans of baseball.

They aren't. And I fear we have leadership in the MLB similar to the leadership that runs the NFL.