Major League Baseball is in the process of changing rules for the league during postseason play. Some of these rules include changing the number of teams that are entered in the postseason. Part of the new purposed changes for the MLB postseason is adding four more teams to the original ten playoff teams. The MLB also plans to add a reality TV type format for the addition of the last wildcard teams and games.
The MLB is planning on seven total playoff spots in each division instead of five during the 2022 postseason. These seven would consist of three division winners and four wildcards. To top it off, the division winners would get to pick their opponents for the first round of playoffs.
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The process that is in place now for the MLB postseason is two teams from each league play a winner-takes-all wildcard game. The winner of this game would end up playing the team with the best record.
At the end of the regular season, the top seven best record teams in American League and National League would qualify for the playoffs. Both winningest teams in each division would get a bye-week. Next, the division winner with the next best record would get to pick their opponent from the bottom three wildcards, and these games would not be hosted. The same process would be used for the third division winner and the wildcard team with the best record would play the team that was not chosen by the divisional winners.
The reality TV-style picking would take place the last Sunday night before the final regular-season games as team representatives chose their opponent on live TV. The TV network for this event has yet to be decided. However, It could leaded to new TV partners with the league for a possible bigger package with a new provider and a bigger fan base for the MLB.
