Major League Baseball is reportedly considering major changes to its playoff format for next season, and some fans are already up in arms.
The league is proposing several major changes, including a shorter 154-game regular season and a best-of-seven division series. These two ideas have been in discussion for some time.
But the third big idea is raising the most clamor: the proposal that the top-seeded team can pick its opponents in the Wild Card and Division Series games, the New York Post reports.
The proposed new rules in the Wild Card round would let the No. 3 seed choose whether to play the No. 5 or No. 6 seed to open the Wild Card games.
In the Division Series, the change would let the No. 1 team choose which Wild Card Series winner it wants to play. In that case, the No. 2 team would play the second Wild Card team.
“Opponent selection would allow the top seed to avoid playing a stronger opponent in the Division Series, increase the importance of regular season records and generate significant fan engagement while stoking rivalries,” MLB said in a fact sheet sent to the press.
MLB says it intends to implement this plan next season if the owners approve the change.
Many fans are blasting the proposal.
“Picking the team they play is stupid. Just do it by seeding. Make the season mean something. If you finish 4th, you shouldn’t have to play the 3rd seed just because they wanted to play you,” one X user wrote.
Another social media user claimed that English Rugby tried this idea and it failed.
“English rugby league tried the ‘pick your opponent’ gimmick in the playoffs, and it was a failure,” he wrote. “The teams picked and not picked gained extra motivation either being considered an easier opponent or being snubbed. It was dropped after fewer than five years.”
One user said it would be “chaotic,” and wrote, “playoff teams picking their opponents is the most chaotic thing MLB has ever done, and I’m honestly here for it. The salt from fanbases when their team gets chosen is gonna be legendary.”
An annoyed fan lashed out at MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, saying, “Manfred continues to drive the car off the cliff.”
Yet another blasted MLB and said, “Pick your team…wtf is this little league?”
One worried that the fix is already in, and wrote, “This sounds like a terrible idea, which means it will probably happen.”
Still, plenty of other X users liked the idea of higher-seeded teams picking their opponent.
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