Baseball’s Regular Season Is Too Long or The Post-Season Starts Too Late
An Easy Out
Jackie Robinson is an easy force out at second in first inning of fourth game of World Series at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York , Oct. 3. Yankee second baseman Billy Martin has thrown to first too late to make double play on Gil Hodges who started play on a grounder to third baseman Gil McDougald – 10/3/1953 credit Wide World Photos
On October 3, 1953 The New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers played game four of the World Series.
On October 3, 2021 baseball’s regular season finally concluded. There will be 10 teams competing in the post-season.
It’s no longer as simple as the best team in each league squaring up against each other. Conceivably now the teams with the ninth and tenth best records can play one another for the World Championship.
Since MLB has no intention of reducing the number of playoff qualifying teams (they may actually increase the number), the thing they should do is cut the regular season down to a maximum of 154 games and even consider shortening it to 144 games.
Yes, there are more teams now than in 1953. MLB and the owners want revenue from all these playoff rounds. But for God’s sake – please shorten the regular season already. There is no need to conclude the World Series in late October or early November when in the northern states temperatures at night frequently drop below freezing. How about the Chicago White Sox or Boston Red Sox getting into in the fall classic this year. Game four is scheduled to be played October 30. Wouldn’t that be a pleasant outing for fans?
