MLB Playoffs: Should Wild Card be best-of-three?

Earlier this month, Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein revealed that the idea of a best-of-three series between the two wild card teams in each league was proposed, but ultimately rejected, a few years ago. Instead of the single winner-moves-on/loser-goes-home knockout game now in place, this idea would have involved a doubleheader between the wild card teams on the first day followed by a third game (if necessary) the following day. The doubleheader deemed necessary because the MLB would presumably not want the divisional champions to sit idle for too long waiting for the next round to start.

The concept is of particular relevance to the Cubs this season, as the team is destined to stake what will be a memorable 90+ win season on the line against Gerrit Cole and the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park at the end of the month. In other words, if the Cubs want to bring playoff baseball back to Wrigley Field, they’ll have to beat Cole (18-8, 2.60 ERA as of this writing) and the Pirates on the road, or watch their season end with only one extra day of baseball to show for it. Of course, they’ll likely send Jake Arrieta to the mound to help them try and accomplish that very task.

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Last season, the Oakland A’s felt the sting that one mere game can bring when they were unable to hold on to a 7-3 lead going into the bottom of the eighth and a 8-7 lead heading into the bottom of the 12th against the Kansas City Royals, eventually falling 9-8. A season that looked like it would involve a deep playoff push at the trade deadline didn’t even make it into October for the A’s.

Of course, the A’s had their chance to win their division, and thus could have avoided the wild card game altogether. In fact, they wouldn’t have even been in the wild card game last year if not for the expanded playoff format that the MLB adopted in 2012, which allowed for two wild card teams from each league instead of one, since the Royals ended up with a better record after Oakland’s 2014 late season swoon.

But that AL Wild Card game (unlike the NL game) was nothing short of epic. So is a best-of-three format a good idea?

Sep 30, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals fans celebrate after defeating the Oakland Athletics in the 2014 American League Wild Card playoff baseball game at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won 9-8. Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

On the one hand, fans could be treated to two or potentially three thrillers like that 9-8 Royals win before the divisional round even starts. Teams like the A’s would get a chance at redemption, the ability to rally from a tough defeat and prove they are the better team.

On the other hand, a huge reason why the wild card game is filled with so much drama is the very knowledge that it’s a sudden death atmosphere. Make it into a best-of-three and you lose what many would argue makes the game so exciting. A doubleheader in the playoffs also seems like a novel concept, potentially very intriguing but a scenario that could likewise wreak havoc on teams’ bullpens and player health at the outset of the long postseason.

Finally, there is the very strong argument that a best-of-three wild card series would cheapen winning your division, since one of the perks of winning your division is avoiding a knockout game and earning the safety net of a multi-game series. Giving that safety net to the wild card teams as well would arguably mean less of an advantage for the division champions. That’s not to mention having the division champions wait around as their next opponent plays what could be two days of intensely competitive baseball, while they watch from the sidelines.

There are no imminent plans to change the wild card format, and Epstein himself has said that he’s fine with the way things are currently set up. But he has also hinted that, given Rob Manfred’s quickly earned reputation as an open-minded commissioner, things could conceivably change in the near future. Should such a change ever come to pass, the question that many fans may very well have could then be: if it ain’t broke, why fix it?

Next: Johnny Bench on what's wrong with the Reds

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