MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred lauds postseason format's success ahead of World Series opener: "The format served us pretty well"
Rob Manfred has been pretty outspoken about the current playoff format. The MLB Commissioner has been vocal about its success, diverting from the general opinion of the MLB Players' Association, but feels that the division winners have a disadvantage.
The 14-team format was introduced two years back. The Wild Card series plays out between three Wild Card teams and one division winner with the worst record. Teams then move on to the five-game Division Series and the seven-game Championship Series.
The topic of discussion has been circulating in the world of baseball after the World Series matchup includes an 84-win team Arizona Diamondbacks and a 90-win team Texas Rangers. Three teams with more than 100+ wins in the regular season – Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers – were all eliminated in the Division Series.
There have been suggestions from the MLBPA to increase the Division Series which is a best-of-five series. This has been proposed in order to let division winners avoid any major upsets. But Rob Manfred stressed the unpredictability that comes with the current 14-team format. Manfred lauded the postseason format's success ahead of the World Series opener:
"That conversation will take place post the season. Enough has been written and said that we have to think about it and talk about it, but my own view is the format served us pretty well.
"If the die was cast, meaning, 'If I win 100 in the regular season I'm going to win the World Series,' I don't think that's as interesting as what we've witnessed over the last month."
Current playoff format is MLB's attempt to keep October baseball interesting
Since Rob Manfred and his management took over the role at the helm of the MLB front office, there have been significant changes in making the sport more "exciting". Certain rules persisted in the sport that made it less attentive to younger audiences. There has also been a significant impact on the sport's viewership in the last few years. Thus rule changes like the new playoff format have been introduced.
The Texas Rangers take on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 World Series.