2023 was the first year the Major League Baseball (MLB) used a draft lottery to determine the top picks of the amateur draft, a process that de-incentivized tanking for the best picks and added an element of randomness to the draft. This is a similar system to the National Basketball Association (NBA), whose most recent draft lottery gave the San Antonio Spurs the opportunity to draft generational talent Victor Wembanyama. However, the MLB features another lottery, and this one puts even more on the line than the number one pick. It is called the MLB Postseason, and it features twelve franchises, all hoping their ping-pong ball gets picked first each October. Yes, some teams have a higher chance of striking the jackpot, as the top two division leaders from each league get a bye to the Divisional series. But, don’t let this slight advantage trick you into thinking these teams are better equipped for a deep October run.
This year, the 90-win Texas Rangers defeated the 84-win Arizona Diamondbacks (the lowest win total in the bracket) in the most irrelevant World Series in recent memory, a matchup between two wild card teams that barely snuck into the playoffs. On their path to the finals, the Diamondbacks swept the Brewers and the heavily favored Dodgers, then proceeded to knock off the Phillies bandwagon in Game Seven of the National League Championship Series (NLCS, a fancy name for semifinals). Meanwhile, the Rangers swept the Rays, handled the number one American League (AL) seed Orioles, and then won an all-Texas ALCS with the Astros. This barrage of upsets led to a World Series between the NL number six seed (Diamondbacks) and the AL number five seed (Rangers). Neither team had the home-field advantage in any series in the postseason until the World Series.
This reality is unavoidable in a postseason with twelve teams. In the MLB, any team can beat another on any given day. Additionally, with the money generated by additional postseason games and teams, this format is not getting any smaller. If anything, the field will get larger. However, these World Series matchups between peripheral teams aren’t doing the league any favor, either. According to Nielsen Sports, the World Series was the least-watched fall classic ever, with fewer viewers than the 2020 World Series, which was the culmination of a shortened 60-game season.
In the last four years, the Red Sox have tried to emulate recent underdog success and sneak into October, while also saving money and rebuilding young talent. They have gone one for four, coming within two wins of a World Series in 2021 before sputtering. Besides that run, the Red Sox have not been able to escape the musty smell of the AL East cellar. Now, the Red Sox have fired the man in charge of this mediocre major league roster, effective general manager Chaim Bloom, and replaced him with former Sox reliever and Cubs front office whiz Craig Breslow. This move brings a fresh set of eyes to player development, and hopefully a few more ping-pong balls in the hat of destiny.
This article also appears in our November 2023 print edition.
