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

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

To ensure that 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 instances all 12 months. They may play extra intraleague video games than divisional video games in 2023. Hell, they’ll play virtually as many interleague video games. Whereas I do assume there are a number of advantages to this resolution — specifically giving each fanbase the chance to see all the recreation’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. Simply because 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.

Take into consideration the opposite 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 pieces in between have all undergone severe facelifts. It’s turn out to be robust 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 get rid of divisions and conferences altogether has turn out to be an annual matter. What number of instances, 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?

Right here’s the factor. Whereas that schedule may fit for the NHL and NBA given most of the longest-standing rivalries in these sports activities — Lakers-Celtics, Avs-Crimson Wings, Warriors-Cavs, Lakers-76ers, and many others. — cross over between divisions and even conferences. That’s not the case in baseball. Yankees-Crimson Sox remains to be one of the marketed rivalries in all of sports activities. Giants-Dodgers, Padres-Dodgers, Braves-Mets, Mets-Phillies, Brewers-Cubs, Cubs-Cardinals, are all division rivalries. The one large 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 should not almost as marketable as the massive rivalries in baseball, and we’ll be getting far fewer of these large 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 doubtless that MLB will comply with swimsuit in limiting the influence 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 “steadiness,” as a result of enjoying within the AL East is much extra daunting and tough than enjoying within the AL Central. Nevertheless, 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 profitable percentages below .450. In 2017, the NL East had just one workforce above .500, now they’ve three. Positive, 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 Sequence extra instances than the Yankees since 2005. Baltimore has by no means skilled that degree of success, however they’ve been on the rise in 2022 and have gone 48-25 since high prospect Adley Rutschman was known as up. That’s good for a 94-win season over the course of a whole 12 months, they usually’ll doubtless 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 provide 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 obtained swept within the NLDS in spite of everything. Positive, the 2006 Cardinals gained the World Sequence after going 83-79, however that’s an outlier and sure gained’t occur once more for a really, very, very long time.

Name 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 and marketing success. They gained’t get the chance to push these rivalry video games almost as typically in 2023 and past. Whereas it is going to 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 assume we’re far faraway from a future the place divisions and conferences are eradicated altogether. Whereas I do imagine 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 purpose as to why these groups must face one another quite a few instances sooner or later. If something, having these groups in the identical division has been used as a framing gadget in an effort to schedule extra rivalry video games. Nevertheless, if the league is set on instituting a “balanced” schedule, then the following logical step could be for each workforce to play each different workforce an equal quantity of instances. Relying on MLB’s industrial success over the following few years with these schedule adjustments, I believe we might see that turn out to be a actuality in as little as 20 years.

Am I overreacting? In all probability. Will MLB ever even come near eradicating divisions and conferences? In all probability not. Nevertheless, I’m a pessimist, and at all times take a look at the worst-case state of affairs, and I don’t fairly know methods to really feel about this potential future simply but.