Jan
16
Some smart post-season rule changes
ByWhile not complaining about salary caps, the owners at their meetings in Phoenix this week managed to enact a few smart rule-changes concerning the playoffs. First, all playoff games must be at least nine innings long. If a game is called due to weather, it will be resumed from the point of suspension. Second, head-to-head records will now determine home-field advantage for tiebreaker scenarios instead of the coin toss. “I’m delighted,” Commissioner Bud Selig said about these common-sense clarifications. Me too, Bud. Me too.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think there was a threat that the 5th game of the World Series would be rain-shortened with the Phillies leading, causing the Phillies to win the World Series. If that actually happened, was the new rule put into place because of that?
Yes, that brought it to the forefront.
You know, I never knew that tie-breakers were decided by a coin flip. Who thought of that bright idea? Nevertheless, these changes were obvious and needed to be done.
What happens when two teams are tied head to head? Or did the rule change neglect to mention that…