Bud Selig and MLB have announced that they are looking to add 2 wild card spots (1 per league) in 2012, which would expand the number of teams in the playoffs from 8 to 10. This is a terrible idea, and I hope that they do not imply this rule.
All of the 4 major sports (MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA) have the division winners go to the playoffs, and there are the others. In MLB, it's 2 wild card spots. In NFL, it's 4 wild card spots. In the NBA and NHL, it's 10. If you look at the percentages of teams that make the playoffs, MLB has by far the lowest, and NBA and NHL the highest:
MLB: 26.27%
NFL: 31.25%
NBA: 53.3%
NHL: 53.3%
Making the playoffs is a big deal, because once your in the playoffs, no matter how bad your team is, you have a shot at winning it all. A medicore team should not be in the playoffs, and a bad team certainly shouldn't be. Because there are 5 wild cards, the Indiana Pacers made the NBA playoffs this year. The Pacers were 37-45, with a .451 winning %. Because they play half as many games as MLB, that would mean a 16 below .500 team would make the playoffs. Based on last years MLB standings, all but 7 teams had a better winning % than the Pacers. This means teams like the Cubs, Astros, Mets, and other rotten teams would be in the playoffs. I know that MLB adding 2 wild card sports is not nearly as many as the NBA or NHL, and the teams would still probably be over .500, but teams play so hard to make the playoffs right now in MLB that baseball should not make it easier to get to the playoffs.
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