MLB Proposes 154-Game Season, Best-of-Seven Division Series, and Playoff Opponent Selection (From 2029)

MLB Proposes 154-Game Season, Best-of-Seven Division Series, and Playoff Opponent Selection (From 2029)

While the Division Series filled the sports pages this week, MLB made its biggest structural move in years: a proposal to the MLBPA that would remake the calendar and the postseason. Per MLB.com, the proposal includes "a revised 154-game regular-season schedule, a new postseason structure that would allow the highest seeds in both the Wild Card and Division Series rounds to select their opponents, and the expansion of the Division Series from best of five to best of seven."

The opponent-selection mechanic is the headline novelty: the No. 3 seed in each league would pick between the No. 5 and 6 seeds immediately after the regular season, and the No. 1 seed would choose which Wild Card winner it faces after the Wild Card round. MLB argues selection would "eliminate a potential benefit of being the third Wild Card, increase the importance of regular-season record, and generate significant fan interest while stoking rivalries."

The 154-game calendar (the standard from 1904-60) would begin in 2029 and include a scheduled off-day every Monday — except for one or two games slotted into "a new, exclusive national broadcast window."¹ MLB spokesman Glen Caplin: "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. A shorter regular season unlocks making October even better for our fans." MLB cites its own data that teams averaged 24% fewer optional assignments per week in weeks containing an off-day.

What it means: this is the opening scheduling/economics salvo ahead of the next CBA fight — fewer regular-season games (and payroll-accrual questions that follow), a longer Division Series (best-of-seven adds up to eight potential playoff games), and more premium broadcast inventory. The union's counter is the thing to watch; nothing here is agreed.