MLB proposes shorter regular season, best-of-7 Division Series

Major League Baseball has proposed to shorten its regular season to 154 games starting in 2029 and to expand the division series to a best-of-seven format.

The proposals came Thursday as part of negotiations with the MLB Players Association over a new collective bargaining agreement.

MLB also wants to allow higher-seeded teams to choose their opponent both in the wild card and division series rounds of the playoffs. The 154-game schedule would be a return to MLB’s calendar prior to 1960, when it was expanded to the current 162-game regular season.

“Returning to a 154-game schedule would allow us to introduce a weekly off day, which is good for player health, while also creating a new national broadcast window to showcase our most exciting teams and players,” MLB spokesperson Glen Kaplin said in a statement.

The MLBPA said in a statement that it is reviewing the proposals, adding that any changes also are “contingent on players’ agreement to a salary cap,” which the union has balked at.

Under the proposal, Monday would be a standard off-day for most teams, with the exception of potentially televising one or two national broadcasts. Holidays and other special events would negate the full league off-day. Teams that play on Monday would be off on Thursday.

MLB is not suggesting a reduction in yearly salaries along with the reduction in games, though bonuses and “similar provisions” would be adjusted proportionally.

In what would be a first-of-its kind in professional sports, the No. 3 seed in each league would be able to select whether to play the No. 5 or 6 seed in the wild card round, with the selection coming immediately after the conclusion of the regular season.

The wild card round round would remain a best-of-three series. In the proposed best-of-seven division series, the No.1 seed would be able to select which wild card winner to play, with the selection coming immediately following the conclusion of wild card round.

Those proposals are pertinent as they relate to this current postseason, especially in the American League, where the three teams with the best records — the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox — were all on the same side of the bracket.

“A shorter regular season unlocks making October even better for our fans — with fewer weekday afternoon games, a longer Division Series, and more opportunities to see the game’s best pitchers on the biggest stage,” Kaplin said. “And allowing the top seeds to select their opponents in the first two rounds would create compelling storylines, intensify existing rivalries and create new ones.”

MLB is proposing to implement the new format beginning in 2029 to coincide with the beginning of the sport’s next national media deals. They’re also part of a larger proposal which includes a salary cap — a sticking point with the union so far.

“Players will weigh in on these proposals and we will respond at the bargaining table,” the union said in its statement. “Unfortunately, the league once again made clear that all of its proposals are contingent on players’ agreement to a salary cap, a system that guts player rights and compensation, as well as its other anti-player proposals.”

The sides have not agreed on the larger economic issues, so anything involving the schedule or other major issues impacting the game are on hold until they do.