Why the playoffs?
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by user BRG
If Major League Baseball were still run the way it was for decades, the Yankees and Mets, with identical 97-65 won-lost records, best in each team's league, would be meeting in the World Series. Instead, the Tigers and Cardinals will be meeting. The Tigers didn't even win their division; the Cardinals had the fifth-best record in the NL. Does this really make sense?
I think a 162-game season is a better way to decide a league championship than a few playoff games, and this year is a good example of why this is so. The Tigers got hot, and they are where they are because they won 7 games in a row -- just at the right time. Certainly, in the regular season, winning streaks of even more than 7 are common, but the Tigers had theirs when it counted. Is this really fair?
The Cardinals, at least, made things exciting. They knocked off the Mets in a 7 game series that was decided in the ninth inning of the seventh game. But did this series really need to be played? After all, the Cardinals finished 13 1/2 games behind the Mets. Shouldn't this have been the deciding factor?
Really, the current MLB playoff format leaves a lot to be desired.
