MLB Proposes 154-Game Season and Playoff Format Changes
Major League Baseball has proposed cutting the regular season from 162 games to 154 games while overhauling its postseason format to include a higher seed selection model borrowed from women’s hockey, according to a report by TSN.
Proposed Structural Changes for 2029
The league presented the proposal to the Players Association as the current collective bargaining agreement nears its expiration. Under the terms submitted by the league, the changes would take effect beginning in the 2029 season. The plan introduces two major modifications to the playoff structure alongside the shortened schedule. Division series, which currently use a best-of-five format, would expand to a best-of-seven series. Top-seeded teams would earn the right to choose their opponents during the first two rounds of the postseason, mirroring the framework utilized by the Professional Women's Hockey League.
League representatives framed the schedule reduction as a player health measure. The return to a calendar of 154 games would allow us to introduce a weekly rest day, which is beneficial for player health, while creating a new national broadcast time slot to showcase our most exciting teams and players,
league spokesperson Glen Caplin stated according to TSN.
Caplin added that a shorter regular season aims to heighten fan interest in October. A shorter regular season would make the month of October even more attractive for our supporters—with fewer afternoon games during the week, a longer division series and more opportunities to see baseball’s best pitchers on the biggest stage,
Caplin said. In addition, allowing top seeds to choose their opponents in the first two rounds would create captivating scenarios, intensify existing rivalries and give birth to new ones.
Player Salaries Remain Intact Despite Shorter Schedule
Player compensation will remain intact despite the eight-game reduction. The proposal states that player salaries will not be adjusted downward to account for fewer games. Incentive thresholds tied to games played will see proportional adjustments to match the shortened schedule.
The 154-game schedule is a familiar baseline in baseball history. The National League and American League adopted a 154-game schedule in 1904, where eight-team division clubs played opponents 22 times each. The American League shifted to 162 games during league expansion to 10 teams in 1961, with the National League following suit the subsequent year.
Postseason formats have similarly evolved over decades. League championship series began in 1969 as best-of-five affairs before transitioning to best-of-seven in 1984. Division series have utilized a best-of-five format since their introduction in 1995. Wild card rounds entered the structure in 2012 when the postseason expanded to 10 teams, shifting to a best-of-three series when the tournament expanded to 12 clubs in 2022.
The collective bargaining agreement governing the league is set to expire on December 1. Industry observers anticipate that discussions surrounding the potential implementation of a salary cap will form the most contentious aspect of upcoming negotiations, as Major League Baseball remains the sole professional sports league among North America’s major four without a salary cap structure.
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