In Defence of the Wild Card

It seems as though a lot has been written this year about Bud Selig and his decision to add an additional wild card team in each league. Many have decried that this will only further lessen the tension of pennant races. Most of these people seem to be neglecting to consider the whole picture though, by bringing up past pennant races in which the race came down to the final day of the season, such as 1993 when the Braves and Giants fought till the very end for the NL West crown. Adding an extra wild card team in each league may in some cases reduce September drama, such as last year in the NL West when the Padres and Giants both would have made the playoffs, but in other cases it would add additional drama. Just look at this year for example.

In the American League, the Division winners are basically all decided. The Angels could still catch Texas from 3.5 games back, but that's the only possible race. If an additional wild card team was added, suddenly you have the Tampa Bay Rays and LA Angels separated by only 1.5 games going into September. Adding an additional wild card team would in this case tighten up the playoff race going down the stretch.

Similarly in the NL, the closest race is in the West, where San Francisco is 5 games back of Arizona, and looks all but out of it. Add another wild card team, and suddenly San Francisco and St. Louis are only separated by .5 games and primed for an exciting September. Now obviously it's not going to work out this way every year. Some years the race for the #4 spot (current wildcard) in each League will be close, and it would make for a more exciting September if there were only one wild card spot. Other years, like 2011, the race for the #5 spot (additional wild card) will be closer and an additional playoff team will allow for a more thrilling final month. Picking and choosing certain years in the past where there was an exciting pennant race is a misleading way to convince people one way or another on expanded playoffs.

A lot of folks use 1993 as an example of how the wild card has ruined pennant races. Then there are cases like last year in the NL West that come along, and make you wonder what these people are complaining about. The same thing will happen with adding an additional wild card team. Just because there's one more team being added, doesn't mean that there aren't going to be exciting races. You can't just look at each year individually when thinking about playoff races. Some years there are going to be great races and some years there aren't. Adding another wild card team will do nothing to change this fact.