Major change in MLB Schedule

[HuskyHawk]

Didn't put this on @Irish Loop's thread because I think more people will see this. It's not the Premier League approach, which wouldn't work because Americans love playoffs. But it's much more fair and reasonable that it has been. Here's an outstanding deep dive on what it all means. I think this will be good for the Rays and probably the Red Sox, who played 106 games against teams with winning records last year. I think some of the teams that have been winning games in weak divisions will face a tougher path.

“I don’t think of it as ‘an advantage,’” Neander said. “I just think it’s more fair, no matter whether the teams you’re playing are stronger or weaker, or the division is stronger or weaker. When you expand the playoff field and more teams are competing for the wild card based on record, it’s just appropriate to have those teams’ records determined by playing more similar schedules and more similar opponents.”

And that was one of the biggest forces that drove MLB’s shift to a more balanced schedule. It’s an idea that teams like the Rays and Guardians have championed for years, in fact. Why? Because in a world with multiple wild cards — three of them now in each league — this is just more fair.

There was a time last summer, for instance, when it looked as if the Rays and Guardians might be fighting it out for the last wild-card spot. How “fair” was that, when one team (the Rays) had to play 83 games against teams with a winning record while the other (the Guardians) had to play only 46?

“That’s a joke,” said an executive from another wild-card contender. “That can’t happen. We need a schedule where, when two teams win 90 games, that means the same thing.”

MLB's 2023 schedule changes: Everything you need to know and what it means for your team

What's going on with MLB's new schedule? We have answers … to every one of your questions … and lots more you didn’t know you needed to ask.

theathletic.com

 

[HuskyHawk]

No comments. Interesting, as this is a huge change. Especially for teams in traditionally difficult divisions.

 

[navery12]

I don't have any strong opinions about it. Don't really like them cutting back on division games, but 13 per team is still plenty. And for the casual fan getting to see every player/team is kinda cool