Let’s Play Three
The one-game, winner-take-all wild-card playoff is in only its fourth year, and many skeptics remain, including one of our esteemed colleagues.
So how else can we efficiently go from five teams to four in each league’s playoff?
I liked the idea my former colleague Jim Chairusmi mentioned in The Wall Street Journal earlier this week: Start with a doubleheader, and if the teams split, play a decisive third game in the other ballpark the next day.
In July, Bob Costas suggested a similar three-games-in-two-days idea, except the team with the better record gets home-field for all three games.
Neil, Rob, would you shake things up, or do you like the extra randomness of winner take all in what is already a pretty random baseball postseason?