51ºÚÁÏ

Do not expand the postseason!

Do not add more teams to the MLB playoffs!

Since Manfred’s mid-August interview with ESPN, in which he revealed realities of realignment and team expansion, folks have discussed a possible trickle-down:

If there are 32 MLB teams (perhaps with Nashville and Salt Lake City added through expansion), “clean� math suggests a 156-game schedule, down from 162. And a way to make up money that’s lost from those six regular-season games? More postseason games!

Don’t do it, Rob. It’ll taint tradition and essentially just be an undignified money grab.

Because, quite simply, the playoffs should only include teams worthy of being a “playoff team.� Already, since they expanded to six teams per league, there have been some good-not-great teams sneaking in along with the greats. Even 12 total playoff teams is a dangerous experiment. Just look at the 2025 National League.

The big-money Mets are on a deliciously inexplicable free fall — they entered Sunday as losers of eight straight. And New York entered the day at 76-73 and just a 1/2 game up on San Francisco (75-73) in the wild card. The Reds (1 1/2 back), Diamondbacks (2 back) and even the Cardinals (4 games back to start Sunday) are mathematically “in it.� So one of these teams will be the third wild card team.

The 2025 Cardinals are not a postseason team.

Yes, mathematically, they could sneak in and, in the spirit of 2006, win the postseason. But gosh, the 2025 Cardinals are not a deserving postseason team (as of Sept. 14).

So what I’m getting at is: Eight playoff teams per league means unworthy teams will get a crack at the postseason. Sub-.500 teams will sometimes be playoff teams. That’s just wrong!

And sure, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League have 16 playoff teams each.

But it’s much easier for a bad baseball team to win a three-game series (or even a five-game series) than a bad basketball or hockey team. We see it all regular season — even the Rockies have gone on some runs here and there. In a small sample size, baseball is random. One starting pitcher can have his best day and change the complexion of a whole series. Or batted-ball luck for the underdog could determine the outcome of the great team’s dream.

Meanwhile, the eighth seed seldom beats the No. 1 seed in the other sports. And — this part is important — when it does happen, the No. 8 seed seldom then makes a run though other teams, all the way to the title. But in baseball, that can happen. The 83-win Cards team in 2006 did (though it’s quite fair to point out that team had future Cardinal Hall of Fame players Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Chris Carpenter and a fresh-faced rookie in the bullpen wearing No. 50 named Adam Wainwright). And the 2023 Diamondbacks did — they won 83 games and, soon after, the pennant.

The whole point of baseball’s 162-game season (or even a reduced schedule length) is to weed out the best from the rest. So we should know on the last day of the season who is deserving to compete for a championship — and those should be the only teams in the playoffs (though sometimes the 2023 Diamondbacks sneak in).

The World Series is sacred. The baseball playoffs are revered. Yes, there is randomness — but it’s randomness accomplished by players already on a worthy team. Being a playoff team in baseball should be worth more than in basketball or hockey — that’s the nature of our great game. And yes, I’m being traditional here, perhaps even antiquated, a youngster could argue. But just because baseball can expand the postseason doesn’t mean it should.

There should be a line drawn.

And sure, more national broadcasts of playoff games means more money for investors involved. And people will watch — especially if their team is in the playoffs (and wouldn’t have been in the 12-team setup). But it doesn’t make it right.

Baseball can keep its integrity even with team expansion and division realignment. (Oh, and no matter what happens, the Cardinals and Cubs must remain in the same division, Rob!) But a diluted postseason would mar the game. Especially the first time a sub-.500 team wins the hardware that’s officially called the commissioner’s trophy.