Major League Baseball is considering some wild changes regarding its season structure and playoff formats.
On Thursday, news broke that MLB is proposing several changes to upcoming seasons. The most notable among these is a return to a 154-game regular season with a standard off-day on Mondays, a best-of-seven Division Series, and opponent selection for the Wild Card and the Division series.
Several of these proposed changes have been discussed for some time, but the wildest of all is the potential opponent selection for the Wild Card and Division series.
The proposed changes would allow the No. 3 seed to choose whether it would play the No. 5 or the No. 6 seed in the wild-card round.
In the Division Series, the No. 1 seed would get to choose which Wild Card Series winner it would like to play, with the No. 2 seed receiving the other opponent.
Per a fact sheet provided by the league, “Opponent selection would allow the top seed to avoid playing a stronger opponent in the Division Series, increase the importance of regular season records and generate significant fan engagement while stoking rivalries.”
If approved, this playoff format change would begin with the 2027 season.
But the league might want to pause implementing this because it has sparked a ton of backlash among baseball fans.
Much of the backlash pertains to the Dodgers. Specifically, that the two-time defending World Series champions don’t need an easier path through the playoffs.
Los Angeles was the No. 2 seed this postseason, which would have meant it couldn’t handpick its Division Series opponent (the No. 1-seeded Brewers would have had the choice under this proposal).
Still, the Dodgers will most likely open the 2027 season as the favorites to win the National League, regardless of how this season ends.
