Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: What If Baseball Split the Season?
Sep 10, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; New York Mets manager Terry Collins (10) reacts during the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
Not a lot to say about the Mets-Braves finale from Sunday. Atlanta is just going to have those kinds of games sometimes.
I was pretty hard on Williams Perez after his last start. I could continue to pile on, though as Fred noted in yesterday’s recap, it’s certainly possible that something is still not right with the Atlanta Braves‘ right-hander. That certainly makes sense, though this also suggests that Perez allowed himself to be rushed back into service.
I will go ahead and predict that this is the last we see of Perez this season, as the team should shut him down to get fully healed up.
This is unfortunately the lot we have for the rest of the season: cobbling together some semblance of a rotation to get somebody through at least 5 innings when one of the “regulars” isn’t pitching.
Oct 21, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; A fan holds up his baseball game tickets before game one of the 2014 World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
This is not a new idea – that of splitting the baseball season into 2 halves. It’s been done in the minor leagues for years. Let’s see how things would be going under such a plan in 2016.
The phrase is “playing out the string”. It’s what bad teams do at this time of the year. There’s little to play for, little to do. Sure: despite some excellent comebacks and inspired play lately, that’s where the Atlanta Braves are. But what if more teams could be brought into play at this time of the year? How would that change the game?
Proposal: 1st Half/2nd Half Winners
There are a lot of implications that such an idea might have, but let’s go through a few things that would certainly have to change:
The Split Date
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Here’s the biggest problem. Traditionally, baseball’s halfway point is the All-Star break. On the day of the All-Star game, Baltimore had played 87 games. Toronto had player 91. Most teams were at 88-89.
Under this scheme, you’d have to do one or more of the following:
Another interesting aspect of this would be the trading deadline. For a split season format, I’d recommend two trade deadlines: One on June 1st; the other on September 1st. Each one would be about five weeks prior to the end of each half-season.
The Playoffs
Split championships could produce anywhere from three to six different division winners. I would like to see 8 playoff teams in each league. You’d use the champions from each half, plus enough ‘best record’ clubs to fill out the roster.
Part of the idea here is that you should not penalize the best teams by having them sit around for very long and losing their edge. Also, rewarding the better teams with a ‘head-start’ is a way to keep lesser clubs from wriggling in… while still giving them a reasonable chance. It also eliminates the “one and done” wild card format of today.
Mar 24, 2015; Peoria, AZ, USA; A sign for tickets above the main entrance to the ballpark during a San Diego Padres game against the Seattle Mariners at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
How Would That Play Out This Season?
July 2nd was the halfway point for 81 games for most of the teams. It’s an approximation, but here’s roughly how it would work out:
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1st Half Champs
None of those races were actually that close… Baltimore had the narrowest lead at 4 games.
2nd Half Races to Date
You think MLB wouldn’t be loving those American League races right about now… only the AL East is really a contest at the moment.
Getting 8 Teams in Each League
If the season ended today under this scheme, you’d have 3 playoffs to determine second-half champs in the American League. That would guarantee 2 AL East champs, but maybe 1 and maybe 2 for the AL Central and West divisions.
If the Yankees won in the AL East, the Red Sox would get in anyway as a Wild Card team by having the next-best record. If the Red Sox win that playoff, the Yankees would be out and Toronto would be in… though the Yankees might still be in due to a better record. Fun times.
So you’d get:
I’m liking this format already.
In the National League, it’s more boring:
Call all of this some food for thought on a mid-September’s Monday morning.
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