Major League Baseball adjusted its playoff format a couple of seasons ago, expanding it to 12 teams with the top two seeds in each league getting a first-round bye, which has since become a hot topic of discussion because of how the top seeds have fared.
Baseball isn’t like most sports. In football, a first-round bye combined with home field is an incredible advantage given to the team with the best record in each league. In baseball, home field isn’t nearly as advantageous as other sports, and the long layoff also has seemingly had a negative effect in a game where timing is so important.
The Braves have won over 100 games in each of the past two seasons — including an MLB leading 104 games this year — earning a first-round bye both years, but they don’t have a single playoff series victory to show for it. Both times the Braves have met up with their division rival in the Philadelphia Phillies, who they finished more than 10 games better than in the regular season, only to be bounced in the NLDS twice in a row.
It’s fair to wonder if the extra time off affected the Braves offense, which was historically great during the regular season and looked pedestrian come October, or if the randomness of baseball is the ultimate culprit. Major League Baseball has stated they will re-evaluate the new format and tweak it accordingly, but it doesn’t seem like any major changes are coming soon. If the Braves want to get back to the World Series, they’re going to have to learn how to adjust to the time off, which Brian Snitker spoke to 11 Alive’s Maria Martin about at this year’s Winter Meetings.
“It’s hard to, because I think we did everything right in between,” Snitker responded when asked about what went wrong during this year’s postseason. “It’s not an ideal situation when you’re down for five days after you’ve been on go for seven months, but we got to figure out how because we’re going to go chase the same thing next year. We’re going to try and win another division. We’re going to try and have the best record, so we can do it again. It’s not ideal, but we got to figure out how to do it.”
Only on @11AliveNews I went 1-on-1 with #Braves Manager Brian Snitker on all things Atlanta Braves. Here's a preview it airs at 5:30
"It's not an ideal situation when you're down for 5 days after you've been on go for 7 months but we have to figure out how." pic.twitter.com/dUj6k4iOR0— Maria Martin (@Ria_Martin) December 5, 2023
The Braves made adjustments to how they approached the layoff this year compared to 2022. Most notably, they hosted live scrimmages with fans in the stadium at Truist Park in an attempt to mimic the type of schedule they experienced throughout the regular season.
It didn’t work, which begs the question if there is even an advantage to going all out for 162 games and winning the division. It’s something baseball might have to answer a few years down the road, but it doesn’t look like it’s changing in 2024. Which means the Braves must figure something out, because they once again will be considered heavy favorites to win the NL East and clinch a first round bye next year.
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Photo: Photo: John Adams/Icon Sportswire
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