Why You Shouldn't Freak Out About An Expanded Playoff

In the 11th hour, MLB and the player's union approved expanding the playoff to 16 teams. Purists will be up in arms, saying that the playoff will 'water' down the product. Here's why you shouldn't worry about what the purists say.

• There Will Be Good Teams That Will Get Their Shot: For a sport that is getting older, the game needs some new ideas injected into it. For too long, quality teams have been shut out of the playoff. For example, last year's Cleveland Indians had 93 wins and still missed the postseason. In 2002, the Seattle Mariners had a solid year with 93 wins and missed the postseason as well. Expanding the playoff would've given these teams a shot at the World Series.
  
• More Money: The expanded postseason will give more teams a chance to fill stadiums and profit off of October baseball. Television networks such as FOX, TBS, and ESPN will get some of the profits as well. Baseball is a game centered around finances and money. Therefore, it needs to progress in its mindset if it is to survive, especially when the age of the average fan is 57 years old.
• Anything Can Happen: Do you remember when the sixth-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl in 2005, despite having only three All-Pros? Remember when the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2012? Did you know that seven wild card teams (including last season's Washington Nationals) won the World Series? All this talk about winning your division or bust is a bit of a ruse, especially when some franchises have to go through countless rebuilds just to get there. Baseball is a game where the unpredictable and unfathomable will happen and that is a thing fans should embrace more.
• A Chance For More Rivalries: Don't you want to see the Cardinals and Cubs duke it out in the postseason? The Giants and Dodgers? THE YANKEES AND RED SOX?! Rivalries are what fuels baseball and the chance to add more to the storied rivalries should be enough to want an expanded postseason.