Major League Baseball and the MLB Players’ Association had roughly 25 hours to get a deal done to expand the postseason from 10 to 16 teams.
And it appears they did just that.
According to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale, who cited “three high-ranking officials,” the two sides agreed to the 16-team playoff format for 2020.
“The new playoff format will feature a best-of-three series in the first round instead of a sudden-death wild-card game. The top two teams in each division will qualify for the postseason – with the two other best teams in each league filling out the 16-team pool,” Nightengale reported.
ESPN’s Buster Olney reported earlier Thursday an interesting detail in the proposal:
As part of the 16-team expanded playoff proposal, the No. 1, 2, 3 seeds in each league— the Division winners— would pick their opponents among the other 5 teams, with a selection show.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 23, 2020
That’s certainly different.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan also reported some added details:
Every first- and second-place team in Major League Baseball will make the playoffs in 2020, sources told ESPN. The two teams in each league with the best record outside of those six will round out the playoff field. Altogether, there will be 16 teams in the 2020 MLB postseason.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 23, 2020
The expanded format could be a difference-maker for some teams by allowing 16 of the 30 clubs into the postseason.
It certainly will be interesting to see what teams make it when the time comes.
