The lesson MLB should learn from the season-ending Mets-Braves doubleheader
Next time, don't mess around.
That's the message Major League Baseball should derive from this unfortunate end to the regular season, when the final two playoff berths will be determined by a doubleheader in which the winner of the first game will have zero incentive to win the second.
Obviously, there are greater problems in this world. The process to narrow the three remaining contenders to two seems rather unimportant at a time when so many in the Southeast are trying to recover from a devastating hurricane. But for baseball, this is not a good look.
I'm guessing the next time the league is faced with a similar situation — and admittedly, this one is highly unusual — it will be more proactive, less willing to bend to the will of the clubs. At least, I hope that's the case. The league was in a difficult spot. But something like this should never happen again.
The deference Rob Manfred typically shows owners is one reason he will end up serving 14 years as commissioner. But in this case, he should have dropped the hammer in the best interests of his sport. He seemingly had two solutions available: The shifting of last week's New York Mets – Atlanta Braves series to a neutral site. Or the rescheduling of the series in Atlanta to include a single game last Monday and doubleheader Tuesday.
By now, we've heard all the reasons why the league, Mets and Braves chose not to act, even with a forecast of rain on Wednesday and Hurricane Helene to follow. Initially, I thought the league merited the benefit of the doubt. I've covered enough games and seen enough go forecasts go awry to know how tricky predicting the weather can be.
Well, the worst-case scenario is upon us, achieving just the opposite of what the league intended when it made the correct decision in 2015 to start all games on the final Sunday at the same time. And while the league is celebrating the "chaos," this is not the kind of "chaos" a true fan should desire. This is a self-inflicted wound, and I cringe thinking about how Game 2 on Monday is going to go down.
The winner of Game 1 will clinch a wild-card berth. That team in Game 2 will want to avoid using any pitcher who might play a significant role in the wild-card series. Frankly, that team probably will be best served using as many position players to pitch as the rules will allow, saving its most valuable arms for a series that will begin Tuesday and potentially run three straight days.
Two of Sunday's finales foreshadowed the potential fiasco in Game 2, where one team has no motivation to compete. The two NL hosts for the wild-card rounds, the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres , had little reason to try against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Mets, respectively. By losing, they knew they could help force the doubleheader, creating potential havoc for teams they might be facing in two days.
And now?
The Diamondbacks, who need a sweep by the Mets or Braves to claim one of the two remaining wild-card spots, might as well begin their offseason vacations. A split will leave all three teams with 89-73 records, and the Diamondbacks lose every tiebreaker.
Not that the Diamondbacks warrant sympathy. They put themselves in this position, dropping five of their last seven games and also blowing an 8-0 lead to Milwaukee on Sept. 22. For that matter, the Mets and Braves also have only themselves to blame.
Like the Diamondbacks, those clubs could have avoided this entire mess by winning one or two more games. Both those clubs also acted out of self-interest in the scheduling shenanigans that got us to this point. Here's one easy fix going forward: Rainouts that occur on April 10 should be rescheduled as quickly as possible, not on the last Thursday of the season, which is what happened at the Mets' request and with the Braves' consent.
The Braves are not blameless, either — they reportedly were reluctant to play games a couple of days sooner — but by now, we've heard enough of the off-the-record finger-pointing between the clubs . The league is supposed to be the adult in such matters, resolving differences between its children. Instead, the league played the role of permissive parent, effectively allowing the integrity of the 162-game season to be compromised.
Not that the league faced simple choices. With the Mets playing last week on Sunday Night Baseball, a decision to move their series in Atlanta to a neutral site would have been necessary by Sunday afternoon, according to a league source briefed on the matter. The state of Georgia did not declare a state of emergency until 3 p.m. on Tuesday. The forecast turned out worse than the league anticipated 48 hours earlier. It happens.
All of this, however, occurred in the final stage of the regular season, the absolute wrong time to gamble on the weather. The forecast was far from definitive, but anyone watching the Weather Channel for 30 seconds knew a hurricane was coming and Georgia was in its path. Sitting back and hoping for the best turned out to be a rather short-sighted strategy.
And yet, the league's hands-off approach was entirely predictable. Too often, Manfred is hesitant to police his clubs. While a far different type of decision, the shameful relocation of the Oakland A's — an act for which the other 29 owners also bear responsibility — was the most recent and extreme example.
Manfred can rationalize the Dubious Doubleheader. Only a bizarre set of circumstances left the league in this position. And the Mets and Braves hardly are escaping without penalty. Once they get through their all but inevitable split, they could end up playing eight games in seven days.
The wild-card round would begin Tuesday with the Braves in San Diego and the Mets in Milwaukee. The Game 1 winner, at least, could scratch its Game 2 starter — Luis Severino for the Mets, Chris Sale for the Braves — preserving him for the wild-card opener. Both clubs would be happy just to get in, but neither would be in an ideal position. The one flying to San Diego would figure to be particularly weary.
It's baseball. Crazy stuff happens. But this is the kind of crazy stuff that should be avoided. In an age of expanded playoffs and increasingly volatile weather, there's a decent chance the league will face a similar predicament in the near future. Presumably, Manfred and Co. learned their lesson, and the next time won't mess around.
(Top photo of the Truist Park scoreboard from April 10, 2024: Todd Kirkland/)
