Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Players Association (MLBPA) jointly announced that the 2020 postseason will expand to 16 teams, eight from the American League and eight from the National League.
The reformatted playoffs will begin with eight best-of-three Wild Card Series. The higher seeds in the Wild Card series will host all three games, which will be scheduled from 29 September through 2 October.
The Wild Card series will lead to the best-of-five Division Series. The winners in the Division Series will play best-of-seven series for the league pennant. The American and National League champions will compete in the best-of-seven World Series.
“We are excited to announce the expansion of the 2020 Postseason," said MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. "This season will be a sprint to a new format that will allow more fans to experience playoff baseball. We look forward to a memorable post season concluding a year like no other."
The Executive Director of the MLBPA Tony Clark added: "The opportunity to add playoff games in this already-abbreviated season makes sense for fans, the league and players. We hope it will result in highly competitive pennant races as well as exciting additional playoff games to the benefit of the industry and all involved heading into next year."
The 2020 MLB season opened on Thursday, 23 July. The New York Yankees won, 4-1, in Washington against defending World Series champions Nationals. Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the USA National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, threw the ceremonial first pitch.
The National League defending champions Los Angeles Dodgers topped the San Francisco Giants, 8-1, on home turf.
A total of 14 games are scheduled on Friday, 24 July.
USA Baseball announced that 165 USA National Teams alumni have made it onto 2020 MLB Opening Day rosters. Twenty-nine of the 30 MLB Clubs claimed at least one past member of Team USA on their rosters to start the season, with 26 teams featuring four or more. The Cincinnati Reds led the way with 10 alums, followed closely by the Texas Rangers with nine and the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays with eight each.
The Toronto Blue Jays are the only MLB club still looking for a home field. After the Canadian government denied permission to play in Toronto, the Blue Jays explored the possibility of playing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and are now in talks with Baltimore, Maryland and Hartford, Connecticut, home of the Double-A Yard Goats. The first homestand begins for the Blue Jays on 29 July.
Photo courtesy of MLB.
