It got things to 162, but for the first time, balance was eroded. Instead, teams would play each divisional rival 15 times (90 games), they would play five of their foes from the opposite division 10 times (50 games) and they would play two of those non-divisional opponents 11 times (22 games). But in order to keep the schedule at 162 and retain a heavier divisional load, the number of games per opponent would not be identical across the divisions. The American League expanded to 14 teams in 1977, adding the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays with seven teams per division. MLB schedule: From 1977 on, maintaining 162 got … weird
MLB SCHEDULE TODAY GAMES PLUS
You guessed it: 90 plus 72 still equals 162 and it placed more emphasis on divisional play - important since only the champions of each division advanced to the postseason. Instead, teams would play 18 games each against their divisional rivals (90 games total) and 12 games against every team from the opposite division (72 games in all). In the end, the NL mirrored the AL plan and the game went forward.įor the first time, the number of games against each opponent would not be equal. The National League, however, had agreed to a 165-game schedule - 15 games against each opponent while retaining a single division, even if that meant an uneven number of home and road games for each team. The American League opted for a two-division alignment. Retaining the 162-game schedule wasn’t even unanimous between the two leagues prior to the 1969 expansion. The introduction of divisional play in 1969 with the addition of four more expansion teams - the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots in the American League along with the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres in the National League - complicated things.
There are nostalgists who long to return to the days of the 154-game schedule, which was the rule of the day from 1904-60 in the American League and 1904-61 in the National League. There has long been rumblings that baseball simply plays too many games and that damages its level of interest from the long-sought-after casual fan. The Major League Baseball Players’ Association, however, rejected that offer in favor of keeping the 2021 season on track for its regular 162-game MLB schedule, no designated hitter in the National League and returning the playoff field to 10 teams after last season’s pandemic-induced expansion to 16. The decades-long debate over the length of the MLB schedule bubbled up again over the weekend after Major League Baseball proposed a change to the 2021 season that would have included a 154-game schedule to be played after a one-month delay in starting the campaign as well as adoption of the universal DH and expanded playoffs.
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