Wild Card Season Wilder Than Ever

The drama of the playoffs could be smothered by the introduction of second wild card teams next year. The reason? Money

By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek

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So THAT’s why they call it a Wild Card.

While Thursday’s 3-2 defeat of the New York Yankees by the Detroit Tigers was the baseball shock heard round the TV ratings world, it was last week that was really squirrelly (no offense to the St. Louis Cardinals new unofficial rally critter).

Major League Baseball‘s playoff teams weren’t decided until the final two games on the last day of the regular season, leading to unbelievable finishes for the Tampa Bay Rays, who won the AL wild card after being down 0-7 and watching the Red Sox lose to the Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis, after the Cardinals won and the Atlanta Braves lost to the Phillies in 13 innings. (The Rays’ playoff euphoria was short-lived, as they were soon downed by the Texas Rangers 3-1; it’s only a matter of time before Texas Governor/Presidential hopeful Rick Perry tries to take credit.)

“We’ve played 200,000 games in the history of this sport, and there cannot have been a regular-season night quite like tonight,” gushed ESPN‘s Tim Kurkian in the aftermath of the most exciting regular season 25 minutes in baseball, while the St. Petersburg Times’ John Romano described the cataclysm as “drama at the highest level and with the greatest of endings. … They write books about this kind of thing.”

If Commissioner Bud Selig gets his way, however, we may never have this type of excitement again. MLB could add a second wild card team in each league as soon as next season; the two wild card teams would then hold a one-game playoff to determine who advances. Had the change been in place this season, the playoff teams in each league would have been determined a week ago.

So why would MLB fix a formula that isn’t broken? Money. The league could make tens of millions of dollars every year by hosting a wild card “play-in” game.

While people may question the new format—especially given how this year played out—it’s worth remembering that not all seasons will end this crazily. And if nothing else, maybe the new rule can help such teams as the Pittsburgh Pirates make the postseason.

Fan(nie)s on Couches and in Ballpark Seats

Selig’s decision to move the MLB regular season’s final day from a Sunday to midweek was a solid success, at least judging by Nielsen ratings. According to SportsBusiness Daily, combined total viewership for ESPN, ESPN2, and MLB Network last Wednesday night pulled a strong 2.8 overnight, including a 4.4 for the final hour of the games. Regional sports networks covering the games also fared well.

At the ballpark, baseball teams saw a slight increase in attendance during the regular season, averaging 30,366 fans per game. The Philadelphia Phillies led all of MLB with an average attendance of 45,441, followed by the Yankees, whose 45,107 average was down 3 percent from last season. The Los Angeles Dodgers, burdened with weighty legal and ownership issues, suffered MLB’s biggest attendance decline, down 17.7 percent. For the first time ever, the Dodgers were bested by the crosstown Angels.

In Phoenix, the NL West champion Diamondbacks averaged 25,795 fans per game in 2011, placing them 18th among the 30 MLB teams.

And in St. Petersburg, the Rays, despite their last-minute run to win the AL Wild Card, endured a 17 percent drop in attendance at Tropicana Field. “Short of the economy, I’m out of excuses,” St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster told local media. The Rays drew an average of 4,064 fewer fans to games than in 2010, placing them 29th in MLB.