Could Realignment Ensure the Best MLB Teams Make the Playoffs?
With Division Differences Widening, It May Be Time To Alter Divisions Or Even Leagues
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
. . . Since the last major realignment in Major League Baseball before the 1994 season ushered in the Wild Card era, it has been almost as likely that a World Series champion holds the best record in the league (seven World Series winners can claim this) as the worst record among playoff qualifiers (five times).
. . . The worst record of a division winner since divisional play began in 1969 was the 2005 San Diego Padres, whose 82-80 mark was a half-game worse than the 1973 New York Mets, who went 82-79 when the final game of the season was rained out.
. . . The only team to ever qualify for the playoffs with a losing record was the 1981 Kansas City Royals, who had a full-season record of 50-53 but made the playoffs on the strength of a 30-23 record in the second half of the season to battle Oakland in what was the forerunner of the divisional round.
Leading Off
Time for MLB Realignment?
By Thomas Holmes
With two full months of baseball completed, roughly one hundred games remain on the schedule to decide the season’s conclusion.
The marathon of the regular season does have a pause in Seattle for the All-Star Game on July 11. Fans are already submitting votes for deserving players. The second half of the season will decide who will move on to this generous new playoff format.
At this point, some of the regular teams that have made it a routine to make the playoffs are in favorable positions. Other teams are eyeing the playoffs for the first time in several years.
Currently, the Tampa Bay Rays are dominating the American League and all of baseball with a winning percentage of .706. The Baltimore Orioles trail the Rays in the American League East with a .631 winning percentage. The NY Yankees are third with a respectable .581 winning percentage. Toronto Blue Jays are fourth winning 55.2% of their games. Finally, the Boston Red Sox are in last place in the American League East with a .492 winning percentage and are tied with the American League Central Division leaders Minnesota Twins. How is a last-place team better than a first-place team?
At this point in the season, the Los Angeles Angels and Blue Jays have better winning percentages than the Twins but would not make the playoffs if they began today. The new playoff format allows six teams in each league to reach the playoffs.
As of Sunday evening, the Twins (33-33) are in and the Angels (36-31) and Blue Jays (37-30) are out if the playoffs began today. Is that fair? The Twins would be in fourth place in the AL West and last in the AL East. Should realignment be considered?
Why are the teams in the American League dominating in won-loss? The Yankees are in fourth place in their league. Place them in the National League and they would be 2 1/2 games behind Atlanta and Arizona, who are tied for the top record in the NL. In the past, analysis has shown that the use of the designated hitter (DH) generated more run production. That argument is dead now that the DH is used in both leagues.
The introduction of the DH in 1973 was the difference between the two leagues. If there is no rule difference between the leagues, why keep them separated any longer? Interleague play is meaningless now and no longer carries the magic it once did. Perhaps geographical realignment should be used to eliminate travel expenses. After all, the Atlanta Braves won the NL West in 1993. Explain that!
The 1994 strike was like an eruption of a volcano. Thoughts, ideas, changes, and suggestions began to build up from the previous labor dispute in 1981. Instead of dealing with them each off-season, it was passed on to the next season.
Perhaps if these issues were addressed promptly, a stoppage could have been prevented. Tony Gwynn could have hit .400. Would the Montreal Expos have won their first World Series? Would have they moved to Washington if they did?
Back to the Braves winning the NL West in 1993. This is a fact. The San Francisco Giants finished second with a record of 103-59 to the Braves’ 104-58 mark.
Let that sink in. After 103 wins, the Giants did not make the playoffs. How did those fans handle that?
This was not the only time a 100-win team did not make the playoffs. It occurred in 1980 with the Orioles finishing second (100-62) to the Yankees (103-59). In 1962, the Giants (103-62) edged out the Dodgers (102-63). The year before, the Detroit Tigers (101-61) were good but not good enough to defeat Mantle, Maris, and the Yankees (109-53).
Remember those unstoppable Yankees teams in the early 1950s? Cleveland Indians (111-43) found a way to stop them in 1954. The Yankees finished with only 103 wins -like the ’93 Giants. The 1942 Dodgers and 1909 Cubs each won 104 games and neither team made the playoffs. The Cardinals won 106 in 1942 and the Pirates won 110 in 1909.
Fast forward to today and the sizeable differences in the records between the AL and NL teams. Would it hurt or help baseball if the Twins won their division by being the only team with a .500+ record in the AL Central and end up reaching the World Series?
What if all five teams in the AL East finish with a better record than the Twins? There will be broken-hearted fans this October. Subpar teams will make the playoffs. Better teams will be left out of the playoffs. It is quite possible a 100-win team might not reach the playoffs for the first time since 1993.
Thomas Holmes is a Yankee fan living in the Tampa area. He is an aspiring baseball writer always looking for new projects.
Extra Innings
Many recall the potential hitting feats that the 1994 strike cut short - Tony Gwynn chasing .400, Matt Williams and Ken Griffey, Jr. chasing 61 home runs, but few reference the notable pitching feat lost that season. Greg Maddux finished 1994 with the first 250+ ERA+ mark since Bob Gibson in the year of the pitcher, 1968. He finished with a 271 ERA+ in 202 innings.
He followed up with a 260 mark the following year, and his 1994 and 1995 seasons are still the fourth- and fifth-best ERA+ marks for a pitcher with more than 200 innings.
the Atlanta Braves first won the NL West in 1991, their worst-to-first season, but repeated in 1992, 1993, and for 11 more years after switching to the NL East -- where they belonged from the start of divisional play in 1969 -- in 1994.
This is undoubtedly the stupidest article about baseball I have ever read. Two years ago, Baltimore and Arizona both lost 110 games, and Texas lost 102. Where are those three teams now? What's your plan? To realign baseball every year depending on who's playing good after three months? If you want the poor Yankees to make the playoffs, maybe they should get a better team rather than whine about the division they're in.