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Comparing MLB's schedule to that of the NBA is silly.
In baseball, the majority of the playoff teams are division winners, and in getting a bye and not having to risk everything in a one-game do-or-die round - and baseball is a game where in almost all seasons, even the best teams lose more than a third of their games - there is tremendous value.
All your points were good ones. The problems you described highlight the difference between leagues where a third of the teams qualify for the post season with four of the ten teams facing a one game elimination (MLB,) and where half of the teams qualify for the post season, all on an equal basis apart from home court advantages (NBA.)
I love inter-league play, as there is nothing worse I hate seeing than a pitcher hit, when half the times they will bunt or strike out. Baseball needs to make the DH standard in the NL soon.
The flip side is the joy (or pain) of seeing a pitcher blast a home run or two in a game, as did Rick Wise for Philadelphia vs. Cincinnati in 1971. Oh and did I mention Wise also threw a no-hitter that same game?
Then that off season the Phillies traded the righthanded Wise straight up to the St. Louis Cardinals for another not-so-shabby pitcher, a lefthander named Steve Carlton. Carlton also swung a decent bat, hitting a three run homer during the 1978 NLCS vs. Los Angeles.
The flip side is the joy (or pain) of seeing a pitcher blast a home run or two in a game, as did Rick Wise for Philadelphia vs. Cincinnati in 1971. Oh and did I mention Wise also threw a no-hitter that same game?
One of the true classics. Especially coming against the Big Red Machine in Cincy and at the height of their prowess. Akin in improbability perhaps to Tony Cloninger (P-ATL) at Candlestick in 1966 becoming the first NL player to hit two grand slams in the same game. They could each swing the bat a bit though, as between them they swatted 26 career home runs.
Im looking at the Braves schedule and they play the Mets, Phillies, Miami, and the Nationals 19 times a piece and dont even play the Yankees once.
I really wish baseball would drop this interleague fear and have all teams play each other so you dont have to see the same teams play over and over and over.
I would go crazy if they did that in basketball I had to see the 76ers, Wizards, and Knicks 8-10 times a year and never get to see any of the western conference teams.
Baseball needs a change to speed things up and have more or all teams play each other since you are playing a 162 game season and not waste half of your season playing 4 teams in your division.
Not to mention, that they have played the Mets in 3 series already this season.
And the Nats are now playing the Phillies for the third time. Next weekend will make it four. They won't meet again until September, but that's pretty much the plan for everyone -- you start and end the season with a bunch of divisional games.
I can understand playing teams in your own division, but 19 TIMES? I think four 3 game series should be enough for 12 games and allow to play other teams more. Instead of seeing the Giants and Dodgers 6 or 7 games, it would allow atleast 9 or 10 games.
I like the fact that my Phillies play their division so many times, but I wouldn't mind MLB doing away with interleague play and maybe knocking off a few games within the division so that they could play the Dodgers, Cubs, etc a few more times. Thirty years ago they played the NL West teams twelve times a year. And I'd like to see the schedule go back to 154 games because of the now lengthy playoffs.
Enough with interleague play already ... Does anybody really get excited about a Phillies/White Sox or Angels/Pirates matchup?
Last edited by 2002 Subaru; 05-07-2017 at 08:41 AM..
I'd enjoy either of those games even if they were in Spring Training. I find all 30 MLB teams easily interesting enough to justify the price of admission. I enjoy minor league games as well. It's all baseball, after all.
I can understand playing teams in your own division, but 19 TIMES? I think four 3 game series should be enough for 12 games and allow to play other teams more. Instead of seeing the Giants and Dodgers 6 or 7 games, it would allow atleast 9 or 10 games.
when scheduling a seasons worth of games, the league puts the emphasis on division play first, giving the divisions tie breakers. say two teams ended the season with the same record, but one team did better against the division than the other did. lets also say both teams are in the playoffs, so it just becomes a matter of seeding at that point. this way the team that owns the tie breakers wins the division.
as for why a team plays more division games than any others, its what the fans want. i would rather see the diamondbacks play division teams more often than non divisional teams, mostly because they play the dodgers, giants and rockies, and i want to see them all beat by the diamondbacks.
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