2020 playoff seedings

Will the lower seeds get to bat last in one of the games during the wildcard series?

Euro asked:

Will the lower seeds get to bat last in one of the games during the wildcard series?

Hadn’t heard of it.

In fact, if anything, one criticism I’ve read about the 2020 format is the opposite – that the division winners don’t receive enough of an advantage as it is.

I get that SD isn’t a division winner, but that 37-23 record would have been good for first place in the East or Central.

This being a shortened season it is hard to complain too much with the format since it had to be developed on the fly but going forward is different. If you are telling me that after 162 games my team finishes 100-62 then has to play a best 2 out of 3 series I would be livid. That would be absurd. Any old 8th seeded team with a couple of decent starters could get hot for two wins.

The division winners or at least the top two seeds deserve more consideration. I am not sure the best way to do it, maybe a first round bye or maybe the division winner only has to win one first round game but their opponent has to win twice. Another consideration, that we have talked about before, is that if the top seeds aren’t given more advantages in the first round why would any owner sanction aggressive payroll spending if he knows that just squeaking into the playoffs gives his team just as good enough chance to advance.

jj, your point can be expanded to many things. A lot of inbreeding with the data this year.

gscottar, I think your overall position makes a lot of sense, although I’d never be on board with a team having to win more games than another team to win a series. Byes, home field advantage and no best of threes should be good enough for the division champs.

If you’re going to invite a team to the party, then I wouldn’t go as far as tying one of their arms behind their back. Just don’t invite them. I don’t like the logic of creating another round of competition and then compromising the competition…..well, other than it would be even more hilarious to see the Dodgers lose to another inferior opponent who also had an arm tied behind its back.

So Hummel was asked on his stltoday chat:

Q. The Cards don’t have to play the Dodgers in the next round if the Reds, say, beat the Braves or the Marlins beat the Cubs, right?



A. That would be correct. There would be a re-seeding if anybody below the Cardinals, even the Brewers, advance beyond the first round.

Is this correct?

Link

Your link seems authoritative. It seems like the brackets don’t change. What is clear is that seeds are sticky, and last all throughout the playoffs. They don’t ‘reseed’ based on who is left in the playoffs, based on any re-looking at records, etc.

I haven’t found anything specific on this point that would support Hummel.

This is the like the NCAA basketball tournament bracket. They don’t re-seed after each round. If you get lucky and get to play a lower seed then good for you, although in this case I don’t think there is a big difference between the teams. A few at the top stand out but most of the teams are fairly equal.