We’ve been waiting to hear more information about negotiations between MLB team owners and the MLB Players Association, and Thursday afternoon, there was more — and it had to do with a major schedule change proposal. MLB would revert to a 154-game schedule, the season length that was in effect from 1904-61 (1960 in the American League).
Here’s a general outline of how that would work:
Beginning with the 2029 season, MLB is proposing to return to a 154-game regular-season schedule — a number that was
used almost exclusively between 1904-60 — which would allow for additional scheduling flexibility in the postseason (more on that later).
The 154-game schedule would include a scheduled off-day every Monday, with the exception of one or two games that could be broadcast in a new, exclusive national broadcast window to increase exposure for the game. Teams that play on Monday would then have an off-day on Thursday of the same week.
The off-days on Mondays would not be in effect for national holidays and select special-event games.
The Minor Leagues have used such a schedule for the last few seasons and it’s been generally well-received. A schedule like this would give a day every week for making up postponed games, if needed, and it would make for a season of 25 weeks plus about four days — so MLB could keep the Thursday/Friday Opening Days that they have used in recent years. With the season eight games shorter, that would also mean MLB wouldn’t have to open the season in March anymore, which is asking for weather problems in northern cities.
Personally, I’d have less interleague play and more divisional play in a schedule like this, perhaps broken up this way:
15 games against every team in your division = 60 games (up from 13 per team and 52 total games)
Six games against every other team in your league except one who you’d play seven times = 61 games
One three-game series against nine of the 10 teams in two divisions in the other league (with the exception of your “rival” as below), rotated, so you’d play every team two of every three years = 27 games
Two three-game series against your designated interleague “rival” = 6 games (thus: down from 48 total interleague games now to 33). If the rival is in one of the rotated divisions, a different interleague series would be added to make the schedule up to 154
There’s your 154-game schedule, and I think it’d be very workable that way. Beyond all that, I’d move the whole schedule back at least a week, ending the regular season in October, because in general weather in northern cities is better in October than it is in April. Anyone in Chicago this month can confirm that — it’s been gorgeous almost every day, with temps in the 60s and 70s, perfect baseball weather. That would push the World Series into November, to which I say, “So what?” It’s been there before.
MLB, most likely, will choose something else.
Further, the league made these proposals regarding the postseason:
MLB’s proposal also included the Division Series expanding from a best-of-five format to a best of seven beginning with the 2029 season. The change would improve the chances the best teams over the course of a 154-game regular season advance to the League Championship Series.
The new best-of-seven Division Series format would add as many as eight potential games to the postseason schedule.
In the Wild Card round, the No. 3 seed in each league (the division winner with the third-best record) would select whether to play the No. 5 or 6 seed, with that selection taking place immediately following the conclusion of the regular season.
For the Division Series, the No. 1 seed in each league would choose which Wild Card winner they wanted to play, making that selection following the conclusion of the Wild Card round.
Intriguing, and note that all of this would begin in 2029. Why is that? Money, of course:
This all sounds interesting and intriguing and could be tweaked in several different ways to make it workable.
The problem, though, was summed up by the MLBPA in a press release:
The league made multiple scheduling proposals today. We are reviewing these materials, including the proposed changes to the playoff format. Players will weigh in on these proposals and we will respond at the bargaining table. Unfortunately, the league once again made clear that all of its proposals are contingent on players’ agreement to a salary cap, a system that guts player rights and compensation, as well as its other anti-player proposals.
Of course the league made this contingent on players agreeing to a salary cap. So that’s going to be the sticking point all the way through these negotiations. MLB’s announcement today was undoubtedly aimed at fans, wanting them to get excited about a new format and possibly more postseason games.
But if a salary cap has to happen first, you can see how this is going to get contentious.
As always, we await developments.
