MLB Playoffs Expected To Expand In 2012 Season
NEW YORK (CBS SPORTS) - There is "momentum" for Major League Baseball to expand the playoffs to include 10 teams, five from each league, beginning in 2012. Nothing is finalized but a deal is "extremely likely" and expected to be done soon, according to Michael Weiner, head of the players association. A deal is expected Thursday.
The expansion of the playoffs to include two wild cards per league was agreed upon by the MLB Players Association and the owners in the new collective bargaining agreement, but the decision hadn't yet been made whether it would start in 2012 or 2013. Commissioner Bud Selig had set a deadline of March 1 on when there would be an announcement, so evidently he's taking full advantage of Leap Day. Regardless, expect an official announcement by Thursday at the latest. And expect it to be expansion for this season.
The new playoff format is expansion in the number of teams, but it also puts more emphasis on the regular season, in terms of winning the division. With this new format, the two wild cards will play a one-game playoff. The winner will then have to turn around -- possibly after having to use their ace -- and play the team with the best regular-season record in the LDS.
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