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It is worthy to note that the news is making the rounds on different social media platforms. This pertains to the fact that Major League Baseball has some changes that will affect starting this year 2022. And if you need a way to watch any of these games just go over to https://www.livesportsontv.com/league/mlb.
Things will be taking a different turn, especially with the playoffs as the MLB season kicks off. In other news, many things have been changed due to implementing new agreements on collective bargaining between the MLBPA and the MLB.
The Playoff Formats
On a general note, the playoff format for 2022 will consist of twelve teams and not the regular ten teams. There will be roughly six playoff teams for each league in this twelve-team format.
And they will have three division winners and even three wild cards. The format in which they will be seeded are:
- One seed for the best overall record
- Two seeds for the second-best record amongst the division winners
- Three seeds for the third-best division winner record
- Six seeds for the three best records amongst the non-division winners. This will be done in order of their record.
The two seeds that come top will receive a bye to the divisional round. While the division winner that remains plus the three wild cards will get to meet in the best of three wild card series.
It gets more interesting as those who win in these series will move to the division series. Then, the playoffs will finally commence, just as you have known it since 1995.
Aside from all these, there are many suboptimal details in the fine print. One of the most significant detail is that the wild card round will be noted as a best of three formats wherein the higher seed gets to host the three games.
Alongside that, some more changes are coming down the pipeline. One of the new changes is that the division winner with the second-best record will now get to choose their wild card opponent. It will also change the stats such as WHIP in baseball will be recorded.
This new rule is similar to the third-best record holding division winner getting to choose their wild card opponent. Usually, no one gets to choose their wild card opponent.
Another new change is that the winner of wild card games with the best record will now move to face the other remaining team. Additionally, all the wild card picks will now be shown in a televised “selection show,” which will be broadcasted on the night of the season’s final game.
With this in place, it will most likely result in diverse teams going back home without playing their game in the presence of their home crowd. This will end up questioning the meaning of what a playoff appearance constitutes.
To begin facilitating a turnaround and prevent the top seeds from sitting out for a long time, those tie-breaking games will not be contested anymore to disrupt dreadlocks on a division.
Neither will they be used in determining the participants of the final playoff.
What Makes The 2022 Playoff Format Different From Former Years?
Unlike the previous years, there will only be one extra playoff team for each league that will compete during the playoffs. Tiebreaker games will no longer be held as they were previously used as the determining factor for playoff teams.
During the wild card round, the number three seed will be hosting the number six seed for what will be known as a three-game series. Plus, the number four seed will be the one to host the number five seed.
When the winners emerge, they will proceed to the divisional round. In this divisional round, there is no re-seeding. Here, the number one seed gets to host the winner that emerges from the four to five series, while the number two hosts whoever wins the three to six series.
Conclusion
On a general note, MLB playoffs began with just four teams, and in 2022, the game has reached twelve teams.
There are more baseball games to be watched in other news as there are now four sets of three-game series before the teams approach the division series.
Everything you wish to learn about the MLB playoff’s latest format and the difference between the previous years has been embedded within this article.
