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dhiadhuit asked in SportsBaseball · 10 years ago

Was the Wild Card invented because...?

in 1993 the San Francisco Giants finished the season with a 103 - 59 record and finished second in the NL West division by one game to the Atlanta Braves. Somehow I felt that the Baseball powers that be looked at the Giants and said that any team *that* good ought to be included in the postseason somehow. Let's have a wildcard team.

Or was it all about realignment and increasing revenue by having more division winners too?

6 Answers

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  • 10 years ago
    Favourite answer

    I think you're right on both counts, but with particular emphasis on the '93 situation. The owner of the Giants HAD to go kicking and screaming to the other owners on how unfair it was that his team wasn't in the playoffs. WHen the other owners saw how they could use the situation to enhance revenue, they were all for it. I think that that season should go down in baseball as one of the best ever.

  • 10 years ago

    Both reasons, but mostly realignment. A six team post-season wouldn't work too well. Maybe they could have had a round robin round with the best two teams going to the League Championship Series, but that idea is really alien to the concept of the game.

    The Phillies, my favorite team, finished the season with the third best record in the NL, and won the pennant that year. Maybe, MLB didn't think they deserved to go the WS.

  • Anonymous
    10 years ago

    The first answer is false, the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, the year they were the AL Wild Card, so did the Marlins in 2003 AND 1997, and so did the Anaheim in 2002. This leads me to a conclusion more similar to yours that the MLB saw exiting teams going out early, not to say that it doesn't increase revenue.

  • 10 years ago

    The Wild Card was mainly created to give more teams a shot to make the playoffs and because it make realignment easier. Honestly, it became another way for people to forget the 94 strike, although the strike happened after the fact. Many wild card teams have won the world series and it's been a great addition for baseball

  • Anonymous
    10 years ago

    It's only to increase revenue

    Wild Card winners will never actually matter or win a World Series, only purpose they are there is for money

  • 10 years ago

    Partly and yes to your other assumptions.

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