Major League Baseball rammed the playoffs change through this week, and because more games are going to be played in fewer days, the format of the Division Series round is changing this season.
What previously was a 2-2-1 format -- giving teams with the home-field advantage the first two games and the potential winner-take-all Game 5 at home -- is for this season a 2-3 format, with the lower-seeded team getting Games 1 and 2 at home.
It was done for travel purposes mainly, as the team that wins in the one-game playoff game between wild-card teams will now be at home for those first two games.
It shows that making this swift change in the format has a big drawback. It makes sense logistically, but competitively this is a big step back. The higher seed will still have a winner-take-all game at home, but the order of the games does matter. Having an ace start in Game 1 at home is something a team plays all season to gain. Roy Halladay threw a no-hitter in 2010 in such a game. In one swoop, that's gone.
It's only for one year, commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday.
"Next year we'll have another schedule so we'll work on it a little differently," Selig said to MLB.com.
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