MLB Will Expand Playoffs for 2020.
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have announced that they will expand the playoffs this season. The expansion will increase the number of teams in the postseason from 10 to 16. This will just be for the 2020 season.
Regarding the expansion, Commissioner Rob Manfred stated that “this season will be a sprint to a new format that will allow more fans to experience playoff baseball. We look forward to a memorable postseason concluding a year like no other.”
Every first and second-place team in each division will now make the postseason. This will cover six of the eight spots that each league owns. The two best remaining teams from each league will also qualify as the seventh and eighth seeds. In this format, the first-round matchups will be 1 versus 8, 2-7, 3-6, and 4-5. This round will take place from September 29 through October 2. It will be a best of three, with all the matches played in the higher seed�s ballpark. Seven of these rounds will be broadcasted on ESPN while the remaining one will be put on TBS.
The rest of the rounds will play out the same way as they have in the past. The two division series in each league will be best out of five. The American and National League Championship Series and the World Series will be best out of seven.
“We hope it (the new format) will result in highly competitive pennant races as well as exciting additional playoff games to the benefit of the industry and all involved heading into next year,” MLBPA executive director Tony Clark stated.
With the start of the season already underway, baseball fans have a lot to be excited about.
