What the brand new MLB schedule may imply for MLB’s future

Yesterday, Major League Baseball launched its 2023 schedule. The largest information to come back from the discharge is that for the primary time ever, all 30 groups will play each other in a single season.

In order for MLB to accommodate such a demanding change, divisional video games can be dropped from 76 to 52, which means every workforce will play every of their divisional opponents solely 13 occasions all 12 months. They will play extra intraleague video games than divisional video games in 2023. Hell, they are going to play nearly as many interleague video games. While I do suppose there are a number of advantages to this resolution — specifically giving each fanbase the chance to see the entire sport’s brightest younger stars each season — there are some potential downsides that I can’t overlook.

Divisions and conferences have gotten far, far, far much less essential than ever earlier than with this alteration.

What I’m about to say might be an overreaction. I perceive that. Just as a result of MLB is making an effort to have each workforce play each different workforce yearly, that doesn’t imply divisions are unimportant instantly. I’m involved about the way forward for baseball although, and what it means for long-standing rivalries.

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Think in regards to the different professional sports activities leagues to have each workforce play each different workforce over the course of a season. The NHL launched this idea in 2008. Since then, the league’s divisions, conferences, playoff codecs, and all the things in between have all undergone critical facelifts. It’s grow to be powerful for informal followers to maintain up. The NBA has at all times had each workforce face each all different opponents, and now, the query of whether or not or not the NBA ought to eradicate divisions and conferences altogether has grow to be an annual matter. How many occasions, in 2021 alone, did we hear an analyst or a fanbase argue in favor of a straight up 16-team playoff no matter division or convention?

Here’s the factor. While that schedule may match for the NHL and NBA given lots of the longest-standing rivalries in these sports activities — Lakers-Celtics, Avs-Red Wings, Warriors-Cavs, Lakers-76ers, and so on. — cross over between divisions and even conferences. That’s not the case in baseball. Yankees-Red Sox remains to be one of the vital marketed rivalries in all of sports activities. Giants-Dodgers, Padres-Dodgers, Braves-Mets, Mets-Phillies, Brewers-Cubs, Cubs-Cardinals, are all division rivalries. The solely massive rivalries I can consider that span leagues are Astros-Dodgers, Cubs-White Sox, and Yankees-Mets, and two of these are solely as a result of they share a metropolis. I do know there are different interleague rivalries that exist like A’s-Giants, Yankees-Dodgers, Cardinals-Royals, however these are usually not practically as marketable as the large rivalries in baseball, and we’ll be getting far fewer of these massive divisional rivalries with this new schedule.

Given what we’ve seen from the NBA and NHL since they began having each workforce play each other yearly, I discover it probably that MLB will observe swimsuit in limiting the affect of divisions ought to they hold this model of schedule for years down the street. The league claims it’s doing so within the title of “balance,” as a result of enjoying within the AL East is much extra daunting and troublesome than enjoying within the AL Central. However, more often than not, the problem of divisions rotates. In 2018, the NL Central had 4 groups end over .500. Now, in 2022, they’ve three groups with successful percentages beneath .450. In 2017, the NL East had just one workforce above .500, now they’ve three. Sure, the AL East is at all times tremendous aggressive, which sucks for the small markets of Baltimore and Tampa Bay, however hey, they’ve managed to remain aggressive in 2022, and have reached the World Series extra occasions than the Yankees since 2005. Baltimore has by no means skilled that stage of success, however they’ve been on the rise in 2022 and have gone 48-25 since high prospect Adley Rutschman was referred to as up. That’s good for a 94-win season over the course of a whole 12 months, and so they’ll probably solely get higher in 2023 and past.

I believe this new schedule is a slippery slope. When the 12 months comes the place a division struggles to supply an 85-game winner, just like the 2005 San Diego Padres who gained their division with simply 82 wins, or the 1973 Mets who did the identical, there can be murmurs of simply eliminating them from the playoffs altogether. The 2005 Padres received swept within the NLDS in any case. Sure, the 2006 Cardinals gained the World Series after going 83-79, however that’s an outlier and certain gained’t occur once more for a really, very, very long time.

Call me an outdated head who doesn’t like change if that’s what you need, however baseball has been hurting for viewers lately and pushing rivalries has been arguably the league’s largest advertising success. They gained’t get the chance to push these rivalry video games practically as typically in 2023 and past. While will probably be cool for Marlins followers to see Shohei Ohtani extra typically, the Angels host the Marlins in 2023, which means followers in Miami nonetheless gained’t get to see Ohtani play subsequent season.

I don’t suppose we’re far faraway from a future the place divisions and conferences are eradicated altogether. While I do consider MLB will make each effort to maintain long-standing rivalries intact, the truth that these groups are in the identical division holds no long-standing cause as to why these groups have to face one another quite a few occasions sooner or later. If something, having these groups in the identical division has been used as a framing machine with a purpose to schedule extra rivalry video games. However, if the league is decided on instituting a “balanced” schedule, then the subsequent logical step could be for each workforce to play each different workforce an equal quantity of occasions. Depending on MLB’s business success over the subsequent few years with these schedule modifications, I believe we may see that grow to be a actuality in as little as 20 years.

Am I overreacting? Probably. Will MLB ever even come near eradicating divisions and conferences? Probably not. However, I’m a pessimist, and at all times take a look at the worst-case situation, and I don’t fairly know learn how to really feel about this potential future simply but.