Rob Manfred Teases Potential Radical Change To Baseball

Baseball is always changing. The pitch clock is a recent addition to the game, while the automated ball-strike system is looming as well. League expansion is another popular topic, with cities such as Nashville and Salt Lake City pining for teams.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred appeared on Sunday Night Baseball and spoke about the consequences of expansion.

“I think if we expand it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign. I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel,” Manfred said.

Manfred went on to explain how the postseason format would be different, and seemed to indicate the league would move to Eastern and Western conferences, similar to the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League.

The specifics haven’t been ironed out, nor are they even close to official. Still, when the commissioner of baseball publicly hints at changes, it’s worth speculating about. If the league did move to geographic conferences, it remains to be seen if divisions within those conferences would exist and impact playoff seeding, or if playoffs would be determined solely by record, like the NBA.

The American League East has traditionally been a difficult division, so expanding to an entire conference could help the Boston Red Sox’s playoff chances year in and year out.

On the other hand, moving to geographically based conferences would eliminate some rivalries. The Red Sox have had excellent, entertaining series over the Houston Astros for the last several years. If MLB moved to Eastern and Western conferences, that matchup might only happen once a year, rather than both home and away.

These potential changes are years away, but they’re something for baseball fans to keep in the back of their mind.