Readers Respond: Should Major League Baseball Expand The Playoffs?

In the NBA and NHL, 16 teams make the playoffs. In the NFL, 12 teams make the playoffs. Since 1995, eight teams have made the playoffs in Major League Baseball.

In October 2010, before Game 2 of the World Series, baseball commissioner Bud Selig said he was in favor of expanding the playoffs further, to expand revenue. The players' union is not opposed to the idea.

Good idea? Bad idea? Expand by two teams? Four teams? How would you account for poor weather early and late in the season?

Makes the season a long exhibition

So, the season turns into 162 exhibition games. What I want: Add two new teams, realign to 4 eight-team divisions, reduce the schedule back to 154 games, no interleague play, and have a league championship and World Series. It is incredible that the current generation of owners is turning baseball into hockey. Why not have 16 teams in the playoffs? 24 teams. Why have a season at all? Let's just have playoffs. Goodbye, baseball, you lost this old timer. I have better things to do than watch a 162-game reality show.

—Guest Mark McLemore

Lowering its standards

This is a real pain in the neck -- next they will have all teams in the playoffs. Plain stupid. Four divisions, four teams (DIVISION WINNERS) in playoffs. Baseball is lowering its standards.

—Guest David Silverwood

I'm old school

I believe MLB should go back to the eight-team playoff format. If they want two wild-card teams, then they should have a minimum number of games that should be won in the regular season order to qualify for the playoffs. Plus, depending on the number of games that you win in the regular season determines how many home games you get in the division series as a wild-card team.

—Guest Will

Why?

Why add any extra teams at all? If you think about it, eight teams are perfect. No uneven games. If you go up to 9 or 10, how would you decide who gets a bye? And with no byes, your next number would be 16! Are you sure you want a postseason the size of the National League? I know I don't we would be playing into December, maybe even January. I don't want to be watching a playoff game when I could be celebrating New Year's with my loved ones. Seriously, just keep it 8 teams and start the season a bit more early so it ends in October. That way we don't have to fight with the football fans over the remote.

—Guest Daniel

No more divisions

I think we should get rid of the divisions and just let the four best teams in each league make the postseason. For example, let's say the three best teams are in one division. The third-best team won't make the playoffs under MLB's current system. In this system, the best team will play the fourth-best and the second-best will play the third in the division series. Home-field advantage will go by record. By getting rid of divisions, for example, the Yankees and Red Sox could play each other in the ALDS instead of the ALCS. Enough teams make the postseason. I would prefer to balance out the schedules. 8 games against each division rival is too much. I also want to see more interleague play. National League should use designated hitters. Keep 14 teams in American League and 16 teams in the National league. Instant replay should be used more, especially in postseason, and more wrong calls should be reversed. Stadiums should have roofs for bad weather. Everything else is fine.

—Guest Baseball Fan

The right way, the playoffs should be

I would expand the playoffs so there were eight playoff teams in each league. But I would have the playoffs start by labor day so that the World Series would end in october like the way it should, and the way it was meant to be. I don't like MLB's idea of expanding it to five teams. There gonna have an uneven amount of teams playing. What are they gonna do, 6 teams on a bye? This isn't football. Either do it the right way or don't do it all. You'll just mess it up.

—Guest keith

Fewer teams in playoffs

The reason I'm a baseball fan is because there are not so many teams in the playoffs. I would like to see more interleague games. I believe in 15 teams in each league and three 5-team divisions. I want divisions because that gives more teams the opportunity to be called champions rather than just a team that made the playoffs.

—Guest Shasta

Baseball for Christmas?

No, no and hell no! Not only no, but shave 20 to 25 games off of the regular season. I'd start by eliminating the useless interleague play. That would get the season down to a reasonable length.

—Guest Jerry Wilson

Expansion

I'd be fine with just two extra wild-card teams. Eight out 30 isn't enough, and leaves out great teams with a shot to win it all.

—Guest Cleveland Indian

More or less

I have to agree with -- Guest Scott. The Playoffs are much to long..,N playing into Nov it just doesn't work. What they need to do is to reduce the the amount of games during the season and figure a way to finish the playoffs/World Series by Oct. 15. It's about revenue, nothing else. It's not going to happen. What I would have like to happen is that MLB should implement every Major League team to have a retractable dome. That way there's no chance of any games ever being rained out. Only then can you plan and think about adding more playoffs. I hope MLB can read this and hear me.

—Guest JoeRiv

Less is more

The playoffs are too long already. I LOVE Baseball but I feel the playoffs should be best-of-three division series/best-of-five LCS/ best-of-seven World Series. Playing in November is crazy and random fans lose interest quickly.

—Guest Scott