Players and owners are still at the negotiating table in Jupiter, Florida, debating a myriad of issues in hopes of brokering a new collective bargaining agreement before Tuesday’s self-imposed 5 PM ET deadline. Slowly but surely the sides are moving closer to something resembling labor peace, though one major sticking point remains. Postseason expansion (currently capped at 10 teams) is viewed as inevitable, but the details are still being sorted out. Owners are intent on expanding the postseason field to 14 teams (seven playoff participants per league), while the union is aiming for 12, or at least making it appear that way as a negotiating ploy, weaponizing the expansion argument as valuable leverage.
It’s easy to see where ownership is coming from. Baseball is, after all, a numbers game and there’s certainly profit to be made, both through ticket sales and television rights, by adding more games to MLB’s postseason menu. Given baseball’s regional identity, the idea of keeping more markets involved later in the season carries similar appeal. Of course, others would argue having nearly half the league qualify for the playoffs not only cheapens MLB’s on-field product (are fans really clamoring for the 83-79 Reds to play in October?), but also dilutes the regular season, rendering the 162-game slate all but meaningless.
If finishing over .500 is all that’s required, what incentive do teams have to spend on prize free agents like Freddie Freeman and Max Scherzer? For a declining sport many feel is fighting for its life (MLB is arguably America’s fourth-most popular sport behind pro football, college football and the NBA), giving owners a readymade excuse to skimp on payroll would be suicide. Millennials—many of them already put off by baseball’s deliberate pace and endless cheating scandals, not to mention unwatchable innovations like “bullpen games” and infield shifts—would have the ammunition to bury America’s pastime once and for all.
Needless to say, social media had plenty to say on the matter, with most lamenting the increasingly real possibility of a 14-team postseason.
With baseball falling woefully behind other sports like football and basketball, particularly in the younger demographic, expanding the postseason may be seen as a necessary financial evil, even if purists equate a watered-down 14-team playoff field to handing out participation trophies. There are countless issues still in need of hashing out—MLB’s competitive balance tax, bonus pool money for pre-arbitration and a higher starting salary—but for fans of the game, baseball’s playoff conundrum may carry the most intrigue.
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