You have to realize that the baseball season is so long to begin with. The set-up now was the most efficient way to expand the post-season without making it go on forever.

And the game of baseball is so hard and one of the main reasons is the amount of games played. The teams travel and play almost daily which is a feet in itself.

I see your point but it would be so complicated and the division champs are whomever wins the ALCS and the NLCS. It sucks to miss by a game but that is sports in general.

I wish that the first round of the playoffs were a seven game series, not a five game. It is to short and the addition of having to maybe play tw extra games is not asking for something outrageous. I think it is more fair as some teams have clinched already while others are in heated and tough division races; so those teams are on little rest. Seven games should be a standards for all three playoff rounds.

Thanks for a good read!

There are those who say that having three divisions and a wild card team is good as it puts more teams in the playoff race but I think this hurts the game as it takes away from the drama of the pennant race.

I remember Bob Costas point made a good point in an article he wrote (which I believe was for The Sporting News) where he wrote what if the wild card had existed in 1951 when Bobby Thompson hit his game winning HR. Imagine Russ Hodges call "The Giants win the Pennant! The Giants win the Pennant! The Dodgers get the Wild card! The Dodgers get the Wild card!".

Another example: In 1996 the Padres and the Dodgers battled for the NL West and it came down the final game of the season. However because both teams had better records then any teams in the NL Central and NL West it meant either the Dodgers or the Padres were assured of getting the Wild Card and it meant that the NL West wasn't really important to the point that Dodger manager Bill Russell removed Ramon Martinez, the Dodgers staff ace at the time, from the game after he pitched just one inning, so he would be able to start game one of the divisional series. Needless to say if the wild card hadn't existed Bill Russell wouldn't have made this move.

Also in using a wild card, it split each league into three divisions meaning that usually there is one "watered down" division such as the AL Central from 1994-2000 was where the Cleveland Indians would dominate the division or in 1998 when the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres and the Houston Astros would have been all invovled in very tight and exciting three team race for th NL West. However because of the three division alignmnet, the Braves were in the NL East, the Padres in the NL West and the Astros were in the NL West, they all won their divisions easily with very little drama involved in the regular season.

Thus in response to those who claim that the wild card allows more team to reach the playoffs/win the World Series is a misnomer as the regular season was essentially a 162-season playoff where EVERY game was important, and reaching the post season was a reward for playing an excellent regular season where you won the pennant race in your division and it allowed for dramatic regular season moments such as Bucky Dent's homerun off of Mike Torres in 1978 or the Dodgers tying the Houston Astros by beating them in three thrilling games of the final weekend of the 1980 season (which I remember watching as an eight year old although the Dodgers lost the playoff game with the Astros).

I will acknowledge there is some benefit to having a wild card system as it creates two positive results 1) It allows small market teams to challenge for a playoff spot now since a division has opened up in baseball economically between big market teams which have a big advantage over small market teams in getting previous talent

2) It allowings letting teams from the same division get to the LCS such as the Yankees and the Red Sox meeting in the  ALCS in 2003 and 2004, which wasn't possible before and it can also be good because some times a division might not be that strong such as the Twins winning the AL West in 1987 when they only had an 81-81 record (although they went onto win the World Series).

Baseball is still as joyous and exciting game as ever, even with the wild card, but I prefer the system of just having a team win its division to reach the playoffs and letting a pennant race unfold during the regular season.

The Wild Card can open a small window for a fraudulent team to make some noise in the playoffs- but the expanded playoff system works for the sheer amount of teams in both leagues. It works. . .but it pushes the WS way too late in the year. Shorten the season by 10-14 games. . .

It does take a while, but I like it. Wild card teams have done great things the past few years.

I want more teams, and I want to make it harder for the wildcard teams to win. Something like the NFL playoffs.

I have to admit when this first started I disliked it and argued against it- I felt baseball was going to become like basketball and hockey. But now I like it. The larger league necessitates a larger playoff- and they sure are fun.

When you compare it to the NHL or NBA these playoffs are over in jig time.

Not a problem. It gives the underdog teams a chance at a championship. Just ask the Florida Marlins.

Hey with out the wild card the red sox dont have a chance at the play offs.

I thought Selig ruined the game. I guess not.

This is a good thing for baseball...I don't see playof expansion as a problem at all, and this years playoffs are evidence that the wildcard is a great addition to baseball.