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Changes could soon be coming to the MLB playoffs.
Earlier in February, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that the league is “seriously weighing” changes to its playoff format that include upping the teams in each league from five to seven, and letting the higher seeds choose their opponents. Those proposed changes have been met with quite a bit of criticism, including from WFAN’s Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts.
On Tuesday, Sirius XM's Chris “Mad Dog” Russo called into the afternoon show for a typically lively discussion with Benigno and Roberts. The two hosts were shocked that the former WFAN host actually likes the possible changes to baseball’s postseason.
“The NFL is going to expand two playoff teams,” said Russo. “If the NFL can do it, why can’t baseball? You guys live in New York, how about in Pittsburgh, when they’re out of it every year in July?”
The idea behind this change is, of course, financially-driven. Expanding the playoffs means more playoff games, but it also means more intrigue around the league. It means more teams are playing meaningful contests down the stretch of the season, as Russo notes. All that puts more cash in the pockets of MLB and its partners.
Roberts passionately pushed back against Russo’ suggestion that the changes would help baseball, as he thinks they would just let more undeserving teams into the playoffs.
“Dog, if you look at the teams that you are adding to the postseason, like look at 2017,” replied Roberts. “You would have had two teams under .500 get in as a playoff team.”
But the “Mad Dog” wasn’t having it. Russo pointed to just how much more exciting the end of the season would be with the proposed changes.
“I’ll tell you one that will happen. Aaron Boone last year, who didn’t care one iota about finishing with the best record, went into Detroit and blew a 12-0 lead because he didn’t want to use any of his pitchers. This next go around, if this gets passed, he won’t do that, because if you have a chance to get the best record, you go all out in September to get that best record because it gets you a bye into the divisional series.”
It’s still unclear if these changes will actually be enacted, but the damage has been done. Benigno really couldn’t believe that Russo, a hardcore baseball fan, was in favor of the changes to the format.
“I’m shocked at you!”