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Is baseball's wild card format even good?

Is the wild card format even good?  It's a simple question that we put to our baseball panelists, but it's not one that comes with a simple answers.

Welcome back to the Yardbarker roundtable, where we ask our baseball experts to kickback, relax and just chat about sports in general. With Major League Baseball's postseason here, we thought we would throw this topic out to the group:

Is the wild card format even good? It's cool to have another two teams included since baseball's playoff requirements are so tough compared to other sports, but a one game battle royal to get into the LDS seems to be against baseball is all about. 

Demetrius BellI've been torn on this for a while, but I'm leaning towards believing that it's good because it gives more teams a chance to get into the most exclusive postseason in all of North American sports. That's only a good thing when it comes to the interest of the game in general, because you don't want the vast majority of baseball fan bases to be completely apathetic once the end of the season rolls around – especially when the league is actively concerned about waning fan interest in general.

Plus, from a competitive standpoint, it makes sense to make the Wild Card a little more dangerous. Instead of just having one team sit on the Wild Card and automatically get their spot, now they have to worry about winning one game. Imagine a world where the Florida/Miami Marlins don't have two World Series titles because they didn't just rely on their Wild Card spot and instead got sent home after losing one game in the Wild Card round? It directly opens the door for one other team to possibly get in, and it indirectly opens the door for the rest of the teams to possibly go deeper. It actually incentives winning the division even more – you want to avoid putting 162 games of work into one game of peril? Win the division.

Shiloh CarderSure, the one game is exciting since it is a winner-takes-all deal, but it totally goes against the entire reason for the MLB season. You play 162 games to make the playoffs and then it is a one game deal like we are the NFL or the NCAA tournament? Is that right? No. The season is typically made up of three-game series so why not at least have that? And let the team with the better record host all three games. Sure it would push the Division Series back a few days but that's what should be done if you are putting this extra round of postseason baseball in.

Remember last year? The Pirates and Cubs had the 2nd and 3rd best records in baseball last year but since they played in the Cardinals division (and their best record) they got a one-game playoff. You win 98 games through six months of baseball and all you get is a one game series.

It is ridiculous to me that the wildcard round is set up this way. Take a look at the past four years of Wild Card games: The road team has won six of the eight games.

Matt WhitenerThe wild card format is about more than just the payoff game, it is also about how it has reshaped the competitive landscape for the better. More teams than ever are a part of the postseason mix, which in turn has made more games matter down the stretch. Baseball has long had a lack of urgency in comparison to other sports, and it is more than just the pace of play and length of ballgames that have contributed to it. Take this year's National League 'race' as an example: as the Cubs and Nationals ran away with two-thirds of the league, the Cardinals, Mets, Pirates and Marlins all stayed relevant much longer than they would have in the traditional format of the game. In the American League, four out of the five teams in the AL East played meaningful baseball into September, while the Tigers and Royals had life for longer as well. More meaningful games across the board makes for a better league and more compelling games, and that is good for business.

Jamie NealI love the excitement that it brings, but this isn't the NFL. The better team doesn't always win. The Twins were the worst team in baseball this year and they won 59 games. I would much rather see baseball go to a best of three series and give the better team (even if it's just the better team that week) a chance to win.

Phillip BarnettThe new wild card format is really fun in the sense that it's essentially baseball just for baseball's sake. Two teams playing for their season with each team placing their respective ace on the mound. And considering how well Wild Card teams have fared since the new format has been introduced, it adds an extra element of intrigue once that winner is determined and the divisional series begin. Especially this season with the Cubs looking like it might finally be their year, they go into the divisional series with the added pressure of having to beat a scrappy Mets or Giants team just to play for the pennant. I understand those who aren't a fan of the format, but I'm all for any extra October baseball I can get after a dreadfully long regular season.

David MatthewsLike the NBA, baseball only has six divisions—but twice as many games. Baseball is about the long haul and teams who go end to end or get hot in July and win the division deserve to be rewarded. At the same time, occasionally there are a lot of good teams deserving of a reward. Take last year when the Cardinals, Pirates, and Cubs all had great records within games of each other. Those three teams had the three best records in the league last season. The Rangers won the AL West with 88 wins. Baseball is about sustained excellence. Ideally the play-in game would be best of three in a neutral location, if the only way to award great teams who were unlucky geographically without re-seeding the playoffs by record (like the NBA), an exciting one-game playoff where each team's best pitcher is on the hill sounds pretty good. Tuesday and Wednesday should be fun.

Can you name every player on the 1969 Miracle Mets?
SCORE:
0/35
TIME:
9:00
C
Jerry Grote
1B
Ed Kranepool
2B
Ken Boswell
SS
Bud Harrelson
3B
Wayne Garrett
LF
Cleon Jones
CF
Tommie Agee
RF
Ron Swoboda
3B
Ed Charles
1B
Donn Clendenon
3B
Kevin Collins
C
Duffy Dyer
RF
Rod Gaspar
OF
Jim Gosger
SS
Bob Heise
C
J.C. Martin
OF
Amos Otis
3B
Bobby Pfeil
RF
Art Shamsky
MI
Al Weis
P
Don Cardwell
P
Jack DiLauro
P
Gary Gentry
P
Danny Frisella
P
Jesse Hudson
P
Al Jackson
P
Bob Johnson
P
Cal Koonce
P
Jerry Koosman
P
Jim McAndrew
P
Tug McGraw
P
Les Rohr
P
Nolan Ryan
P
Tom Seaver
P
Ron Taylor

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