This Card is Wild!

 Simon B

We all know how tight the race is between the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and, Mariners is this year. It's one of the tightest in recent memory for sure. Every game matters and fans are living and dying with every single pitch. The reality is, the MLB rules will only allow two of the four teams mentioned to play in the Wild Card Game Tuesday night. 

Everyone has two games remaining and they are all within a single game of each other. That's as close as close can be in baseball for sure. The possibility of a four-way tie for the wild card is something we've never seen before and quite frankly might never see again. 

Personally, I can draw two conclusions from this year's historic race. The first is that Jays fans shouldn't be upset if they don't make the postseason and the second is that the MLB needs to change their playoff format ASAP.

(It's) OK Blue Jays (fans)

As a fan, if you had asked me what I wanted out of this season for the Jays back in April when the season began, I would've told you that a successful season would mean playing meaningful games come September. 

It's clear that they exceeded those expectations because it's October and they're still in it. 

This season was a crazy one for the Jays and a postseason birth would probably make it one of the most memorable. I don't want to go through the storyline of the season because it's not done yet and I'm really hoping to be writing about playoff baseball in Toronto this year. I was looking at highlights from the Jays back in '15 and '16 when they made their two ALCS runs but ultimately fell short both times. It was amazing. I remember a buzz around the city like I had never seen before. 

The public transit buses in Toronto are usually red, white and, black. Well, during those runs, they had blue signs all over them supporting the Jays. Every home game, Rogers Center was absolutely electric and you could feel it through the TV as well. It makes you realize the power of sport and how it can bring us together. As we're finally getting back to normal here, having Canada's team in the playoffs would be the perfect way to welcome back normalcy in this country. 

I had the chance to go to a few games and I don't think there are many feelings in the world like walking into a stadium and feeling the tension of a must-win game. I was there last night for the 6-4 win and anyone who's been to any game this season will know that absolutely every pitch matters. 

All that being said, it's very likely that they don't make the playoffs and we will be stuck watching Boston and New York battle it out on Tuesday night. Even though I and all Jays fans despise both of those teams, it wouldn't mean the season wasn't a good one.

GM Ross Atkins said back in 2018 that he had hopes to be contending for the playoff by 2021 and look where we are. This is a roster full of players who are less than 25 and have never played a full season in the majors until this year. This certainly won't be the last time we see them contend for a playoff spot. 

About the Format

One of the things that make the MLB playoffs different than all the other major sports is that only 5 teams in each league make the postseason. The issue I have with that is that teams who are worthy of playing in October don't always make it. I'm not just saying this because of this year's circumstances but I think it would be a lot more interesting if they legitimately had the best teams make the playoffs.

Right now the winner of each division qualifies for the first round and then the two best teams in the remainder of the AL or NL play in the wild card. But this means that there are chances that a team has a better record than one of the division winners but doesn't qualify because they're in such a strong division.

Look at the Chicago White Sox. They are in the same division as three rebuilding teams and one that greatly underperformed this season so their path to the playoffs is much easier than a Toronto or a New York who has 4 contenders in a 5 team division.

My solution would just be that the eight best teams in each league move on and the first place team plays the eighth, the second-placed team plays the seventh and so on this way we can be sure that the best teams all make the postseason.

The Wrap

Two games to go, one game separates the four teams and, only two spots are available. I will do a rundown of how everything ended once the dust settles on Monday morning. Until then, we have some baseball to watch!

If you have any other sports topics you'd like to read about, let me know in the comments or send me a message in the "Contact me" section in the sidebar! 

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