Major League Baseball has been looking for excitement and they are getting it. In 1994, the wild card was introduced as MLB went to a three-division format in both the National and American Leagues. In 2012, MLB dipped into the well once again as they added a second wild card team which resulted in a one-game, winner-take-all, play-in game. In just three years the Wild Card Game has produced tremendous fandom in MLB. The wild card coupled with the luxury tax and revenue sharing has produced parity in Major League Baseball which has been great for the game. The extra playoff spots have also added more excitement down the stretch in the regular season as more teams have a legitimate shot at the postseason where in years past they would have just been playing out the schedule. The wild cards also put more emphasis on teams striving to win their division in order to avoid playing in the one-game playoff.
Since 2005 only the Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, and Miami Marlins have not qualified for the postseason. This week the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles are set to square off in the American League Championship Series. The Royals have not reached the World Series since 1985 while the O’s haven’t been to the Fall Classic since 1983 which means that the drought for one of these clubs as far as not winning the AL Pennant will come to an end real soon.
Revenue sharing and the luxury tax have been great in MLB as they have virtually eliminated dynasties from the sport. Gone are the days of teams such as the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics winning three consecutive World Series Titles which is what MLB commissioner Bud Selig was hoping for when these changes were implemented. Major League Baseball has not seen a World Series Champion repeat since the Yanks in 2000 and the closest thing to that in recent history has been the San Francisco Giants who won the Fall Classic in 2010 and 2012. Of the 10 teams that made the playoffs this year, it will be tough for the majority of them to make it back to October baseball in 2015 which continues to produce intrigue in the game.
The Orioles are flying high right now, but they must decide if they are going to re-sign shortstop J.J. Hardy and outfielder/designated hitter Nelson Cruz this winter. It will be a tough decision for Orioles general manager Dan Duquette due to the fact that the contracts of outfielder Nick Markakis and catcher Matt Wieters will be coming up soon as well. The Orioles team payroll of $108 million this season was 15th overall in MLB, but will Duquette go crazy in spending?
The Detroit Tigers were just eliminated from the postseason by the Orioles yesterday and they have been creative in maneuvering through the swamp that is big contracts. Last off-season Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski traded first baseman Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers in exchange for second baseman Ian Kinsler. Fielder is due to still earn $144 million on his current deal as his contract is set to expire in 2021 and the Tigers are only on the hook to pay $30 million of it while Kinsler’s contract runs through 2018 and he is only owed $53 million. By trading Fielder, the Tigers were able to develop some payroll flexibility that will come into play this winter as they are hopeful to retain the services of starting pitcher Max Scherzer who is expected to get a big payday. The Tigers and Dombrowski will focus on bringing back Scherzer this winter, but they must also think about starting pitcher David Price who is set to become a free agent in 2016.
The A’s backed into the playoffs and in the process their general manager Billy Beane gave up one his best players in outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to acquire starting pitcher Jon Lester from the Boston Red Sox. Lester was only a rental for the A’s as he is a free agent and his price tag this winter will be too much for Beane to afford in the small market of Oakland.
After a 20-year postseason drought, the Pittsburgh Pirates have made the playoffs in the last two years. Catcher Russell Wilson was a big part of that for the Pirates, but he is a free agent and with a lack of quality back stops on the market in MLB he will receive plenty of attention which will make it tough for Pittsburgh to maintain his services.
Most Major League Baseball teams tend to shy away from going over the luxury tax threshold, but that does not matter to the Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers who will open the vault to obtain any player via trade or on the open market as they consistently pay the luxury tax.
But teams like the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants have been able to roll with the punches as far as parity. The Cards have one of the best minor league systems in baseball which is evident by their 11 trips to the postseason since 2000. Under general manager John Mozeliak, the Cards have a ton of interchangeable parts that they consistently replace in order to keep the machine going which is also evident by their two World Series Championship teams since 2006. The Giants have won two World Series Titles since 2010 and with the exception of catcher Buster Posey, third baseman Pablo Sandoval, along with starting pitchers Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Madison Bumgarner, they have done with a different cast of characters for each title under general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy.
Over 20 MLB clubs are sitting at home watching the remainder of the postseason and by the end of the month only one team will be left standing. But for those teams that didn’t make the postseason this year, they know that everything is not lost as at least a few of them will be able to take that next step to the postseason in 2015.
Sources: Baseball-reference.com, Sportrac.com
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