With the elimination of the Washington Nationals from the playoffs last night, we have yet another season in which the teams with the best records in the American and National Leagues do not make it to the World Series. Instead, thanks to the pile of playoff series that have been concocted, we may see -- in the best case -- the second best team in an AL (Baltimore) against the third best team in the NL (St; Louis) or -- in the worst case -- the fourth best team in the AL (Kansas City) against the fourth best team in the NL (San Francisco), with a couple of other combinations also possible.
I became a baseball fan way back when there were only eight teams in each league and the two with the best records met in the World Series. It was not about winning a short series at the end of the season; it was about winning over the long haul, from April through September.
But Major League Baseball, like the NFL, NBA, and NHL, is all about making money. And so we have layers of playoff games, supposedly to keep the fans in many cities excited and interested, but mostly to get more fannies in those more-expensive post-season seats.
So here's my suggestion to MLB: Go right ahead with the current system of getting two teams into the World Series. But after it's all over, take the two teams with the best records and let them play a "Bestest Series." They could play a game or two in each of their home cities and then, like the Super Bowl, play the finale in a predetermined locale.
There's more money to be made here, MLB. Think about it.
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