As this is written in early August, the Giants and A’s have a good chance to be in the MLB playoffs in the same season for the first time since 2003. A major change in the playoff setup enhances their chances of getting there, but may dampen their chances of staying long.
From 1903-1993 only first place teams advanced to the baseball post season tournament. Until 1968 the team with the best record in the National League would simply face the team with the best record in the American League in the World Series. In 1969 each league separated into two divisions and those division champions would face in the League Championship Series with the winners going on to the World Series.
After a work stoppage canceled post season play in 1994, the top second place team in each league was invited to meet one of the first place teams in a three-division setup in a best-of-five Division Series beginning in 1995. Five of those wild card teams went on to win the World Series, proving that there was very little difference in being a division champion vs. a wild card qualifier.
That has changed. This season baseball has added a second wild card team and the two wild card teams will square off in a one game playoff to qualify for the Division Series. This gives teams finishing first a significant advantage, and according to University of Chicago economist, Columbia University professor and Society for American Baseball Research President Vince Gennaro, goes along way towards rewarding regular season excellence.
“The new playoff format rationalizes the postseason for MLB—it provides appropriate playoff advantages and disadvantages based on regular season performance,” said Gennaro in his Diamond Dollar$ blog. “Under the old format (1995-2011), it’s fair to say a postseason berth was a 1-in-8 lottery ticket to a world championship. In the new two wild card system, the teams with the best regular season will have a decided advantage.
“Since the two wild cards in each league will meet for a one-and-done play-in game, this cuts the probability in half that a wild card team will reach the final eight teams.” Teams assured of winning at least a wild card berth will no longer coast into the playoffs and will instead strive to win their division, perhaps leading to more compelling regular-season stretch drives.
As you pull for the Giants or the A’s this month, remember that now a division championship is far superior to a wild card berth, and that just making the playoffs could be a one-game-and-out affair for any second-place qualifier.
Schierholtz Complaints Lead to Trade
On July 18, San Ramon Valley High School product Nate Schierholtz made it known that he felt that his future with the Giants was limited, leading to a July 31 trade to the Philadelphia Phillies that netted the Giants outfielder Hunter Pence.
Schierholtz had been in the Giants organization since 2003, in the big leagues on and off since 2007, and was a member of the team that won the 2010 World Series. He also felt the only organization he had known as a professional had been jerking him around for most of his time in the majors.
“I think sometimes the standard of my play is different from other players,” said Schierholtz to the San Francisco Chronicle. “…I came in with the expectation to play a maybe a little bit more than we’ve seen. A weeklong slump kept me back on the bench for two months.”
Despite being the only player through July 31 to twice hit two or more homeruns in a game for an offensively-challenged team, Schierholtz was on the bench far more than he played. In 2009 Giants General Manager Brian Sabean told a group of season ticket holders, including this reporter, that the Giants did not see Schierholtz as an everyday player due to what they judged as insufficient power and an inability to get on base often enough. According to the July 18 Chronicle piece, manager Bruce Bochy said something similar to Schierholtz in a private meeting this spring.
So it was probably time for Schierholtz to move on. The Phillies ballpark is more favorable to hitters, and at 28 Schierholtz is in his prime baseball earning years. His contract is up at the end of this season, and it will be interesting to see if the Phillies offer him a new deal or if they non-tender him and Schierholtz becomes a free agent.
Between having two contenders for the new-style MLB postseason and a local favorite in a new home after a high-profile trade, Alive East Bay baseball fans will have a lot to watch between now and the end of October.
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