Floating Realignment in MLB

The Committee

Commissioner of Major League Baseball Bud Selig created a “special committee for on-field matters” that has already come up with a big idea for a change. The committee proposed the notion of floating realignment. Under floating realignment, teams will be able to change divisions based on payroll, location, and potential to make the playoffs. For example, a team like the Tampa Bay Rays, who are in the AL East, could move to another division so that they can get out of the shadow created by the Yankees/Red Sox and compete for a playoff spot without having to compete with those two teams every year. Conversely, a rebuilding team, such as the Kansas City Royals, can move to the AL East 
where they can benefit economically on the 18 home games they would play against the Yankees and Red Sox. In terms of location, no team would join a league more than 2 time zones away, for television timing reasons.

Don’t Shoot It Down So Fast

I have to admit, at first, I thought this was an absolutely terrible idea, but I think that is because it is so different than anything we have seen before, and not many people like radical change like this would bring. However, after mulling it over for a little while, I realize that it’s not such a terrible idea. It certainly helps all teams out. Rebuilding teams can get extra money from playing big names. Playoff hopeful teams are able to move to less tough divisions where they don’t have to compete for a spot with the big names. This rotation can help keep the playoffs fresh with new teams every few years. A team that rebuilds in one division, after a few years, can move to another division where they can compete for a playoff spot, replacing a team that was playoff bound a few years ago, but now may need to rebuild. The rotation helps keep the league going.

Not Perfect Just Yet

Although there are highlights to the idea, there are also flaws. One of the bad things is that although it adds excitement to the playoff race, it also makes it less interesting. 2 of the 4 playoff teams every year will be the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox pretty much by default. By giving them a division with rebuilding teams, they are pretty much playoff locks, making half the race to the playoffs very boring. Yes, it seems like every year those 2 make it to the playoffs anyway, but that leads me to my second problem, when 1 of those 2 teams didn’t make it to the payoffs the MLB got much more exciting. Can you name one baseball fan who didn’t enjoy Tampa Bay’s surprise World Series run in 2008? I’m a Yankee fan and even part of me was rooting for the Rays because everyone loves an underdog, and that’s what floating realignment gets rid of. Like an NCAA tournament expansion, floating realignment gets rid of the Cinderella possibility since the worst teams will be playing against the best teams, where an upset is highly unlikely, and the teams in the middle will all be playing against each other looking to make the playoffs, eliminating the possibility of a surprise in the middle since every team is hoping to make the playoffs.

Too Early To Tell

Overall, floating alignment is a very interesting and creative idea, but the negatives seem to out weigh the positives. It does help out teams by allowing rebuilders to get more income and giving playoff hopefuls a fairer chance of making the playoffs, but it also guarantees half the playoff race to be more repetitive. There isn’t a whole lot to say about it because it is a very raw idea right now, but if it were to be enacted, adjustments would have to be made to it so that the league isn’t run by the Yankees and Red Sox more so than they are now.