With a second lockout this decade pending, Major League Baseball owners are coming up with creative ways to get on the baseball field as planned in 2027.
The league announced the proposal of a 154-game season, which would knock out eight games of the 162-game slate that was implemented in 1961.
Owners also proposed the Division Series, which has been a best-of-five since its introduction in 1995, to be a best-of-seven, but with a wild twist.
The highest seed in both the Wild Card and Division Series, owners proposed, would be given the ability to choose their opponents.
“Returning to a 154-game schedule would allow us to introduce a weekly off-day, which is good for player health, while also creating a new national broadcast window to showcase our most exciting teams and players,” MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said. “A shorter regular season unlocks making October even better for our fans — with fewer weekday afternoon games, a longer Division Series and more opportunities to see the games best pitchers on the biggest stage. And allowing the top seeds to select their opponents in the first two rounds would create compelling storylines, intensify existing rivalries and create new ones.”
The opponent-choosing could perhaps be a reaction to this year’s postseason format, in which the American League teams with the second- and third-best records, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, will not see the Championship Series.
Under the current format, rather than reseeding , the top seed in each league is automatically slated to face the winner of the 4-5 seed matchup, and the No. 2 seed goes against the 3-6 seed winner. The top three seeds are given to the three division winners (with the top two getting a bye), in record order, while the 4-6 seeds are given to the best non-division winners, also in record order. Thus, despite the second-best record in the AL, the Yankees were the fourth seed.
With the 154-game schedule, which wouldn’t be implemented until 2029, all teams would be off on Mondays , except for a rare nationally televised game or a holiday, in which case they would then be off that Thursday. Minor League Baseball is off every Monday, which has apparently been well received , as it’s normally paired with a Sunday day game.
Each team would also have a scheduled split doubleheader against each of its division rivals during the season.
MLB teams originally played 154 games until the 1960s.
The proposal from the owners still includes a salary cap, which players have adamantly opposed and said is non-negotiable. The owners are expected to lock out the players on Dec. 1, when the current collective bargaining agreement expires.
