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This Friday, Major League Baseball will host its first-ever Wild Card games in its new expanded format. This will be a one-game, winner-take-all between the two wild cards in each league for the right to advance to play the team with the best record in each respective league.

Some traditionalists are not fans, either because they aren’t in favor of adding an additional playoff team in each league or because of the one-game format. Frankly, I think those folks are completely wrong for several reasons.

In "The Mick's" day, second place meant ALWAYS meant no playoffs.

Competitiveness and fan engagement

More teams and mid-sized markets have a chance to compete all season long this way. Look at how many teams would have been sellers at the trade deadline or given up on their season early and look at how many were able to play their way back into the race, making it more exciting for their fan bases and followers of the game. Atlanta has been well ahead most of the season in the NL Wild Card race, but the added spot brought St. Louis, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and even temporarily Pittsburgh, belief they had a shot at making the playoffs. In the AL, Oakland, the Los Angeles Angels and Tampa Bay all stayed in the race.

The one-game Wild Card Game is exciting and made for television

Television pays the bills in sports and what could be more exciting to have everything in a six-month, 162-game season come down to one game? Won’t it be exciting to see the Braves in Chipper Jones’ last run go up against the defending-champion Cardinals in one game? What about in a year where the Yankees or Red Sox have their season come down to one game, wouldn’t people lose their minds? The ratings will be awesome and the energy will be felt throughout the baseball world.

It is much fairer for the division champions

The Braves made the playoffs the first six years of the 10 I spent in their media relations department and in each first-round matchup we had the better record. Sometimes it was by a large margin over the wild card or sometimes it we had to play another division winner with a lesser record because of the rule where a wild card couldn’t play a team in its own division. What advantage did we get for being the better team over six long months? One more home game in a best-of-five series. Wow. Big freaking deal.

When the wild card was a no-brainer, like the years when the Yankees and Red Sox would easily make it, or when another division winner could coast into the playoffs they could line up their pitching staffs and negate the better team’s advantage. This is why the Braves dropped five of the six first-round series in my time there. In 2003, the Braves won 101 games. The Cubs won 88, but knew they were in so they lined up a healthy Kerry Wood, Carlos Zambrano and Mark Prior for the series. In 2004 and 2005, the Houston Astros were able to lineup Roy Oswalt, Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. Over six months, the Braves were the best team. Over five games having to go against that pitching, they were up against a wall.

This new format forces those teams to have to use their ace because they can’t risk losing the one-game playoff. Then that team has to travel right away to play the best team, regardless of division affiliation, on the road. That travel, stress, and pitcher usage is a much bigger advantage and one that was earned over six grueling months.

One game is fair for the wild cards

A lot of people are upset, saying one game shouldn’t determine which wild card team will advance after six month and because one game in baseball has too many variables. Tough crap.

Their reward is they at least get a chance at the postseason, a well-earned chance. If they want a better chance, go win the division. This rewards success over 162 games. They at least get a shot and if they win one game, they are close to even ground after that. Before the wild card, they wouldn’t have been in at all and back in the old days, only the top team in each league advanced to the World Series.

Predictions on the playoff teams

NL:  It is pretty clear in the National League at this point. The Braves will host the Cardinals in the NL Wild Card Game and the winner will advance to play either Cincinnati or Washington, whichever winds up with the best record. I think Cincinnati winds up with the better record. The San Francisco Giants will play whichever team does not end up with the best mark, so I’m saying that is Washington.

AL:  With six games to play, both Tampa Bay and the Angels trail the surprising Oakland and Baltimore by two games. It is amazing the A’s and O’s are still in it at this point and everyone has been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Both have a big advantage at this point, but Tampa has won eight in a row and the Angels are loaded with talent. I’m guessing that Baltimore hangs on, but the Angels catch Oakland. The winner of the Angels and Orioles will get Texas and the Yankees will play Detroit, who will hold off the Chicago White Sox in AL Central.

Check back after the teams are set for my postseason predictions!

Is the change to a "smiling bird" the key to the Orioles recent success?

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