MLB Playoffs 1995-Present

Baseball has seen its fair share of renovations and realignments over the past three decades but one of the most significant changes in the history of the game came in 1995 when commissioner Bud Selig put a whole new spin on the way the league would operate. 1995 saw the creation of a new division in each league and a Wild Card in each league. The Wild Card in each league also led to a second round being added to the playoffs. The League Championship series was added to baseball’s post-season play in 1969. That meant that the top two teams in each league had to play a best of five series before advancing to the World Series. Since the addition of the Wild Card team in each league the Championship Series has been changed to a best of seven format and the Division Series was added to the playoff roster. This new round (in 1995) is a best of five series.

What does all of this mean for the sport of professional baseball? Well, for one, it gives more teams the opportunity to continue playing baseball once October rolls around and it creates more revenue for the sport in general. Since the addition of the Wild Card team and the Division Series to post-season play there have been more than enough sweeps in the first round of play. Has the Wild Card Era lessened baseball with all of these first round sweeps? Or, has the Wild Card Era provided enough thrill and excitement towards the end of the regular season to keep baseball fans happy?

Since the advent of the Wild Card team in postseason play and the onset of the Division Series in each league, first round sweeps have become all too common and many baseball experts and former players claim that the first round should also be a best of seven format, not a best of five format. I tend to agree. As much as I like to see certain teams swept out of the postseason in the first round, if you play a 162 game season you should have more of an opportunity in the first round with a best of seven series. A best of five series is not the greatest measure of a ballclub. A best of seven series is the best measure of a ballclub.

Since 1995 there have been 56 Division Series to take place, two in each league, and incidentally 56 teams have won those series. A handful of those series ended in a sweep, more often then not, for the same team. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have been swept from the first round of the MLB playoffs twice, both times by the Boston Red Sox.

Other sweeps, but not all of them, in the first round have come at the expense of the Red Sox, the Padres, the Dodgers (1995 and 1996), the Giants and the Astros. The Chicago Cubs, including 2008, have been swept in the first round of the postseason a total of three times. This season they were knocked out by the Dodgers, last season by the Diamondbacks and in 1998 by the Braves. The first round of the playoffs needs to be expanded for the sole purpose that there have been too many sweeps in the best of five format.

The Major League Baseball playoffs have lacked excitement for at least the last few seasons because of the sweep. Seeing a team sweep another team during the regular season is nice, especially when the sweeping team needs every win they can get during a pennant race. But all of these sweeps during the postseason are becoming a little old.

Take for instance the 2007 playoffs. The first round saw three sweeps and only one series went four games when the Yankees lost to the Indians 3 games to 1. Then, in the League Championship round, one of the two series ended in a sweep. To make matters worse, the World Series ended in a sweep for the third time in four years. A total of five sweeps occurred during the 2007 playoffs out of the seven series played.

With the debacle of the 2008 World Series looming large over the heads of Major League Baseball, changes need to be made to the playoff format. World Series game five was suspended because of inclement weather and resumed two days later. The Phillies eventually won the game, 4-3, and took the World Series 4 games to 1 over the Rays. But other than the late-inning dramatics of a continued game five, there wasn’t much excitement outside of Tampa Bay and Philadelphia during the playoffs. Bud Selig and the rest of baseball’s administration need to figure out how to bring the excitement back into the game. We haven’t seen a thrilling World Series since 2001, when the Diamondbacks bested the Yankees 4 games to 3, capturing their first title in franchise history. Baseball needs a change and it needs it now.