⚾ All Hail MLB’s (Possible) Playoff Change

The mere thought of tweaking the MLB postseason has people up in arms. But talking about ways to improve the game is a very good thing. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: MLB’s rumored postseason changes take the sports conversation by storm ... we find out why Tom Brady is a free agent in the first place ... and we crown a Best in Show at Madison Square Garden. It is February, just a week and change removed from football season, a few days from the NBA All-Star Game, with spring training not even started, and the talk of sports is … the Major League Baseball playoffs. Where to start with all this? A leaked report on Monday detailed how MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is mulling over a proposal that would see drastic changes to the playoff system and could be brought into being as soon as 2022. Cue … outrage. A sweep of headlines and columns on the matter produced results that were laughably hysterical. In summary, by wanting to tinker with its current format, baseball is apparently headed for the precipice. The changes would be disastrous. Plenty of columnists “detested,” “loathed,” and “hated” the idea. Spoiler alert: this isn’t that kind of column. [STORY IMAGE 1] Unsurprisingly, Twitter was all up in arms, too. Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer, who doesn’t exactly have the most glorious social media history, went all Trevor Bauer, launching a scathing direct message at Manfred, calling the proposal “absurd.” And somewhere, Manfred was likely smiling, watching it all unfold as his league, still shaking off its winter slumber, became the hottest topic in sports. Bear this in mind. There had been, as of Tuesday morning, not a single official comment from MLB — no confirmation that the reports are accurate or any indication of how far down the line they have been discussed. There has been no ratification of the changes, obviously, and no agreement from the players association, which would be necessary. No clue over whether this is something that Manfred is tied to, or if there are other plans also under review. Despite all that, baseball has gotten more publicity than you can buy. Fans, writers and even those more interested in sports bracketing formulas chewed over the pros and cons of whether the new look could work. We wouldn’t dare to suggest that MLB leaked the proposal itself, but it’s getting all of its market research done for it in one fell swoop. [STORY IMAGE 2] Anyway, if you’re not up to speed on the proposal yet, let’s get you there. The new format would see an increase from 10 playoff teams to 14, with seven from each league — three division winners and four wild card teams. The division winner with the best overall record would get a first-round bye. The six remaining teams in each league (two division winners and four wild cards) would do battle in a best-of-three series, with all games hosted by the higher seed. To determine those matchups, the division winner with the second-best record would get to pick its opponent from any one of the bottom three wild cards. The division winner with the next best record would pick who it plays from the two remaining teams. Finally, the top seeded wild card would play against the team not yet chosen. The selections would be played out on television, in real time. [STORY IMAGE 3] Personally speaking, I quite like it. Yes, there would be four total extra teams in the postseason, and thereby the possibility that a team with a record of around .500 could win it all, but it would take one heck of an achievement to get there. Teams that excel in the regular season would get increasing benefits based on their finishing position, as it should be. The idea of a three-game series adds excitement and also home-field advantage, admittedly a smaller factor in baseball than other sports but not lacking significance. No more single-game wild card shootouts, but perhaps something better. A lot of the blowback focused on criticism of teams being allowed to pick their opponents. In truth, it doesn’t seem very MLB. But maybe that’s the point. Why should the fact that baseball has been around for so long preclude it from being an innovator? Why should it only be the XFL or [Premier League Lacrosse]( that can drum up interest with forward-thinking moves aimed at enhancing entertainment? [STORY IMAGE 4] Baseball is a great enough sport that it has been around for 150 years. It has earned the right to hold the public’s interest for all that time. It is not a great sport simply because it is old. It is allowed to try new things, or, in this case, it is allowed to think about trying them. As the guardian of the sport, MLB is allowed to consider what might appeal next to a young generation of sports fans, as its existing base gets older. And, as ever, it is the unique right of each fan whether they want to get on board with that, or whether they are so disgusted at the concept that they switch off altogether. That’s always a risk with change. Yet if anything, the furor and the banter and the back and forwards since the plan was leaked has showed how much people care about playoff baseball. And now there is a proposal to give them more of it. Call me a cynic, but I find it hard to imagine that those getting so heated are going to suddenly lose all interest when, and if, changes come into play. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Dan Patrick, Dan Patrick Show: “Baseball needs to add intrigue. ... baseball fans my age are going to be baseball fans. You’re trying to attract a younger demographic. I’ve got to get someone who has a shorter attention span — why would you want to watch this? Why would I want to watch the highlights the next morning? ... If you’re in your 20s, your 30s, your 40s? That’s the audience you have to get.” Henry Bushnell, Yahoo Sports: “There’s incentive to be the best team in a league, not simply a division winner, because top seeds earn first-round byes. There’s incentive to win your division, even if you can’t reach that top seed, because doing so earns you three home games in a three-game, first-round series. If you can’t win your division, there’s incentive to finish with the top record among wild cards, which earns you three first-round home games as well. The alternative is zero.” Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated: “What if the proposed expansion to a 14-team playoff field were in place for the past eight years (2012-2019)? We don’t know how it might have affected spending and team construction with more available postseason spots, but if you simply apply the format retroactively, here’s what you get: 27 of the 30 clubs would have qualified for the postseason in that eight-year period.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Eli Manning might have called it a career this season, but there’s another Manning waiting in the wings to continue the family legacy, [Ross Dellenger writes at Sports Illustrated](. - At 43 years old and in his 22nd NBA season, there’s no one like Vince Carter. [Ryan Jones chronicles “The Making of Vinsanity” for Bleacher Report](. - With Mookie Betts officially a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, [SB Nation’s Peter Brody breaks down]( how Betts’ trade from the Red Sox could affect Aaron Judge. [THE BRADY HUNCH] [THE BRADY HUNCH] Amid all the speculation about Tom Brady’s future, there’s one underlying question: How? As in, how did we get to the point where the Patriots would allow Brady to explore free agency? According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, [the answer is actually quite simple]( Pats owner Robert Kraft believes that, should both sides go through this process and decide that they’re still the best option for each other, than this was truly the best thing for both sides. And really, you can’t hate that kind of trust and respect. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Fair warning: the full, expanded image above contains a few f-bombs — but what else would you expect from the Black Mamba? He was never one to hold back, as the above text message from March of 2019 reinforces. According to ESPN, the printout of that tweet was on a bulletin board inside the dugout at Orange Coast College, where John Altobelli, the message’s recipient and one of the nine victims in January’s tragic helicopter crash, coached baseball. It’s an all-too-real reminder to live each day to its fullest — and to help others to do the same. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (FS1, 7 p.m. ET) Tonight, we crown a champion, as the 144th annual Westminster Dog Show concludes with the final breed judging and the awarding of the Best in Show from Madison Square Garden! Los Angeles Clippers at Philadelphia 76ers (TNT, 7 p.m. ET) Kawhi Leonard makes his return to Philly for the first time since he eliminated the Sixers from the playoffs last year as a member of the Raptors, as these two potential title contenders look to enter the All-Star break with a W. WWE Backstage (FS1, 11 p.m. ET) Wooooooooooo! ... sorry, you’ll have to excuse us; we’re just extraordinarily excited for Charlotte Flair to make her Backstage debut tonight. Wooooooooooo! [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( 2020 World Series Winner New York Yankees: +350 Los Angeles Dodgers: +450 Houston Astros: +600 Atlanta Braves: +1100 Washington Nationals: +1300 With all of this talk of potential playoff changes, and with pitchers and catchers starting to report today, why not take a look at the odds on who will win it all this MLB season? Despite their acquisition of Betts and David Price, the Dodgers still aren’t the betting favorites to win the championship, trailing just behind Aaron Judge and the Bronx Bombers. And indeed, the Yankees have seen the most action on the board so far, with nearly 20% of all tickets on New York, according to our insights. A new FOX Sports app and website is coming. [Click here]( to be notified when the reimagined app is available. [WHAT THEY SAID] “Don’t follow trends. Be different. 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