If you want to make a prediction that's sure to be right, here are two simple rules: DON'T forecast the results of MLB playoff series, no matter how good or bad the teams are. DO expect a certain subset of baseball fans with very large megaphones to be reflexively hostile to change.
In short, a lot of people suddenly summoned indignation over the idea that the World Series doesn’t necessarily crown the very best baseball team as champion. And it’s true, the World Series doesn’t crown the best team. MLB’s playoffs — especially since the introduction of the wild card in 1995 — aren’t designed to find the best baseball team. They’re designed to send a collection of the best baseball teams crashing into each other for dramatic effect.
Let’s run down how the NL field would have looked if we retrofit this season’s results into the format that ruled from 2012 to 2021:The loser of that game would have faced the Padres in a wild-card game for the right to face the Dodgers. Since 1995, when a fourth team was added to each league’s playoff field, 40 teams have won 100 games. Of the 39 whose seasons have concluded , here’s how far they got:Lost in wild-card round: 1
Among the 57 teams since 1995 that finished the regular season atop the AL or NL heap , it’s a similar story.The Padres, winners of 89 games, are not even particularly notable as underdogs go. Last year’s Braves — remember them? — eliminated a 106-win Dodgers team en route to their World Series title after winning 88 games. The 116-win 2001 Seattle Mariners famously lost to a 95-win Yankees team in the ALCS.
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