One Game Wild Card Perfect for MLB

Let's say the New York Yankees take the American League East, the Detroit Tigers take the Central, and the Los Angeles Angels win the West in 2012. This is hardly an unrealistic scenario. The Boston Red Sox have the next best record earning the traditional wild-card but the Cleveland Indians played hard all season and finished just a game behind the Red Sox for the spot. Season over, right?

With MLB commissioner Bud Selig's plan, which could take effect as soon as this season, both the Indians and the Red Sox would participate in a one-game playoff matchup to determine who would take the wild-card spot in the Divisional Series.

Gone are the days when the team with the best record in all of the American League takes on the team with the best record from the National League. Also gone are the days where a two-division league exists. The introduction of the wild card was great when MLB transformed into two three-division leagues, but why not take it a step further?

I can still remember September 5, 2011, the last day of the regular where four teams still had a viable shot at making the playoffs. The St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays advanced while the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox faltered.

What makes me curious under the new system is whether the excitement of that final day of baseball could occur every year, and what would have happened if the Rays played the Red Sox and the Braves played the Cardinals?

To answer the first question, yes. Two on-the-cusp teams playing in a single game would give teams and their supporting fans the hope of a championship. It would also leave the playoff matchups to the last minute because of the rule that two division rivals may not face each other in the Divisional Series. I like the added pressure for the Division winners.

What would have happened if Atlanta defeated St. Louis in the one-game playoff, advancing to the NLDS? Would Albert Pujols still be playing first base for the Cardinals in an effort to win one more for the city that idolized him?

The Cardinals sure made a memorable World Series for everyone, but it could have been Boston who turned their epic collapse around when it mattered most.

You just never know.

Sources:

All data provided by MLB.com