Greg Miller, Staff Writer

With the MLB playoffs drawing to a close we look back at the wonderful season of baseball played. Almost every team ends on a sour note. 20 out of the 30 teams do not make the playoffs, and nine of those teams lose a playoff series while the last one gets crowned World Series Champion.

Of those nine teams to lose in the playoffs, two of them every year only get to play one game to further their season. Two teams will play 162 games and finish in the top five of their conference only to play one game to decide their fate. That is brutally unfair to only have one attempt. If a coach chooses to pull a pitcher early to not make him as tired for the potential series that lies ahead but the reliever blows the game the coach is laughed at like a fool. Also, not to mention every team can have an off day. That is one reason they play multiple game series. A one game winner takes all has very little show of who is truly the better team.

But even if you are the lucky team to win the wild card game you have one day of rest before traveling to the top team in your division to play them in a five-game series. A team most likely just threw their top pitcher and their top bullpen arms and are expected to travel to the top team in the division and go toe to toe with a fresh team.

In a league where only a third of all teams make the playoffs, the lowest in all major professional US sports, playing 162 games and having your entire season be ruined because of a play-in game is absolutely absurd and should be changed.

This article was originally published in the November 1, 2019 issue.