My Wild Card Hypocrisy

I have never been a fan of the wild card system in Major League Baseball for two reasons. 

First, I don’t think that a team should be rewarded with a playoff spot for finishing in second place.  I am old enough to remember when there were no divisions in MLB; the first place finisher in the National League played the first place finisher in the American League in the World Series and, unless there was a tie in one of the leagues, that was all the playoff there was.  I kind of miss that system:  two leagues, two champions, one World Series. 

Now, some will protest my reasoning on the basis of the fact that in recent years a Wild Card team has often won the World Series but I would still insist that a second place team should not have been there in the first place.  As we all know, the team that wins a playoff series is often the team that gets hot and not necessarily the “best” team; it is conceivable that you could throw a third place team into the mix and, if things fall right, they just might win a short series.

Second, I fear that baseball will continue to expand its playoff system so that more and more non-champion teams (another way to refer to wild card teams) will get in.  The specter of MLB’s playoffs coming to look like those of the NBA in terms of the number of really average teams that get in gives me a sick feeling.

Why, then, do I find myself getting excited about the Braves being in serious competition for the NL Wild Card spot? 

Perhaps it’s just a concession to reality.  For one thing, I really don’t think, although I haven’t given up hope, that the Braves can catch the Phillies and win the Eastern Division.  For another thing, given that the Braves haven’t made the playoffs since 2005 and I miss the excitement of the postseason, I just want them to make it under any circumstances.

So I admit it–I’m a hypocrite.

But I do have another reason: I have really enjoyed watching the development of this team and I would like to see them rewarded for the growth they have experienced and for the adjustments they have made.  The Braves have a nice mix going:  excellent starting pitching (and let’s give Frank Wren some credit for the Lowe, Vasquez, and Kawakami acquisitions), a bullpen that has been fairly solid given that some of them have been seriously overworked, and an offense that seems to have finally hit its stride for several reasons, including a willingness to play small ball and the replacing of some players who had become almost automatic outs, such as Kelly Johnson and Jeff Francoeur.

So let the race begin–or, more accurately, continue. 

If the Braves win the Wild Card, I’ll just have to be content with chanting “We’re #2!”