Nearly a decade after Major League Baseball became the last major sport to include a wild card spot in its playoffs, this baseball season has renewed the debate over the pros and cons of the "wild card."
In the National League, every divisional winner essentially already is determined -- Atlanta (in the East), St. Louis (Central), Arizona (West). But the race for the wild card is still a heated one between the Dodgers and the Giants. Baseball, in fact, added the wild card to its repertoire for precisely such intrastate rivalries.
Although the division crown may have been clinched a month ago, the fight for the wild card most likely will linger into the final days of the season, providing much-needed excitement for NL fans. This week, Los Angeles and San Francisco opened a four-game set that could end up deciding who packs their bags for the playoffs and who makes tee times for October.
On the other side of the spectrum, the American League flat out lacks a wild card race. In fact, this season's American League exemplifies why many people (broadly labeled as "baseball purists") still dislike the wild card. In the AL West, the battle between Anaheim and Oakland could have offered us one of the most exhilarating baseball Septembers in recent memory -- both teams are playing excellent baseball and will finish with over 100 victories. This four-game series could have gone a long way in determining who makes the playoffs and who doesn't.
But so much for excitement, because the wild card assures both teams a postseason berth.
The debate over the double-edged sword that is the wild card started at the end of the 1993 season. Beginning with the ill-fated 1994 season, baseball implemented its current three-division format that included a "wild card" entry for the postseason. Although it may seem commonplace today, the "wild card" marked the first time in baseball's history in which a non-divisional or league leader participated in the playoffs.
After approval of the three divisions and wild card spot, it was the end of the 1993 season that sparked immediate debate over the pros and cons of the wild card. That season, the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants spent September neck-and-neck in an epic pennant race for the National League West title. Because no wild card spot was available, the battle for a place in the NL Championship Series came down to the regular season's final day, with each team sporting a 103-58 record.
So-called baseball "purists" and fans against the idea of the wild card already had their test case -- the perfect example of why the wild card was a bad idea. If the wild card already was in use, they argued, then the final day -- or for that matter, final month -- of the season would not have mattered because both the Braves and Giants would head to the playoffs regardless of who won the division.
Pointing out that both teams won over 100 games during the season, pro-wild card fans retorted that the Braves and Giants clearly were the league's two best teams. With the wild card, they argued, it was best (and most fair) to have both teams make the playoffs and square off on the field -- and in the playoffs -- rather than face punishment for playing in the same division, in which only one team can advance. Furthermore, supporters would point out, every other major sports league allows wild card entries.
Anti-wild card fans would retort that allowing only the division winner to advance provided baseball's inherent beauty and uniqueness. Baseball was unlike any other sport because the best teams clearly stood out after a 162-game season -- more clearly than they would in a 16- or 82-game season. Baseball purists lamented that 1993 marked the last great pennant race.
Although much has changed and the wild card now is more widely accepted as a benefit rather than a detriment, this season once again has sparked debate over the dual possibilities the wild card presents. In one case, the wild card race still is providing the thrill of September baseball in the NL. On the other hand, the comfy wild card has handicapped what could have been one of the most dramatic and memorable last stretch runs in the AL.
Even a decade later, the debate continues.
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