MLB and the MLBPA Friday, as expected, formally announced the expansion of its postseason format to include two Wild-Card teams in each league, with those Wild Cards playing a one-game elimination contest to advance to the Division Series round. The 10-team playoff format, first formally contemplated in the sport's new CBA announced in November, also includes a one-year shift to a 2-3 scheduling plan for the Division Series round. The higher seed in each Division Series will be home for games 3-5, with the lower seed hosting games 1 and 2. The move helps accommodate the extra playoff games by removing a traditional travel day between games 4 and 5. Beginning in '13, MLB will revert to its prior practice of a 2-2-1 format for home field in the Division Series.
This year's initial playoff schedule calls for the one-game Wild Card games to be held Friday, Oct. 5, two days after the end of the regular season. The Division Series round will then begin Saturday, Oct. 6 for the two series not involving teams with the best record in each league. The other two Division Series will begin on Sunday, Oct. 7. "The enthusiasm for the 10-team structure among our clubs, fans and partners has been overwhelming," said MLB Commissioner Bud Selig in a statement. "This change increases the rewards of a division championship and allows two additional markets to experience playoff baseball each year, all while maintaining the most exclusive postseason in pro sports." MLBPA Exec Dir Michael Weiner added, "The players wanted to enhance the value of winning the division, and this new format does that."
The new structure also eliminates a prior prohibition of a Wild Card team playing in the Division Series against a team in its own division. An announcement of the television plan to show the extra playoff games will be made at a later date. The new Wild Card games will also expand a player postseason compensation pool that hit a record $59M in '09, and finished just below last year at $57.3M.
