The 2014 World Series featured two teams with some of the worst regular season records in postseason history, and it was awesome for Major League Baseball.
The San Francisco Giants won 88 games in the regular season while the Kansas City Royals won 89. This marks the fourth lowest combined win total between World Series participants in the history of the Fall Classic. Two of those seasons (1981 and 1918) were shortened due to the players’ strike in ‘81 and World War I in 1918. That means this year was the second worst World Series in which a full schedule was played record-wise behind the 1973 series between the Oakland A’s and the New York Mets.
This season was also the second time in league’s existence that two wild card teams matched up in the Fall Classic. In 2002 the Anaheim Angels and San Francisco Giants matched up for the first wild card World Series ever. The wild card was introduced in 1994 but not used until 1995 because a players’ strike canceled the 1994 playoffs.
The wild card gives an opportunity to teams that do not win their division to continue their season and have a crack at the World Series. The rule was instituted because MLB expanded to three divisions per league and the format in place excluded some good teams. Under the original wild card format, the team with the best win percentage that did not win a division earns a spot in the playoffs against the division winner with the most wins, unless the two teams were in the same division. If that was the case, the wild card team plays the division winner with the second most wins.
In 2012, MLB changed the playoff format to include a second wild card team in each league. The two wild cards play a one-game playoff to earn a spot in the division series. The reaction to the change in the playoff format was a positive one by fans. With the new rule more teams were playing in the postseason and the regular season became more important.
Once proud ball clubs that were experiencing playoff droughts suddenly found themselves back in the playoffs and electrifying their cities and fans. The 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates had not been to the playoffs since 1992 and struggled to compete consistently. At the end of the 2013 season they made it to the wild card game against division rival Cincinnati. Pittsburgh’s PNC Park was completely sold out with fans wearing all black in one of the most exciting playoff atmospheres ever in a non-World Series game.
For this season’s Royals it was even more: nearly three decades had passed since their last trip to the playoffs when they won the World Series in 1985. They clinched a wild card berth, won and took that momentum through the American League Division Series and the American League Championship Series, sweeping both opponents, and winning their first pennant in 29 years.
This season, it was obvious how joyful the Royals faithful were about their team and it brought the city together. This wild card format is beneficial to the teams and cities that make it. More games means more revenue for the team, people who work at the games get to keep their jobs longer, and fans get to watch with hope and hold on to the season longer.
The wild card rule that began in 2012 allows more worthy teams to participate. The 2014 World Series shows that the teams with the best regular season records are not always the best when the calendar turns to October.
Because of the expanded wild card, baseball fans were introduced to the young and fast Royals who led the league in stolen bases and were dead last in home runs, a style of play that has been lost since the steroid era. Viewers also witnessed a dynasty in the making with the San Francisco Giants winning their third Wold Series in the last five years. Twenty-five-year-old World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner displayed his dominance on the mound in one of the best single series pitching performances in history.
The wild card rule seems to have staying power as indicated by the past three seasons. There have been more meaningful games because of the expansion and it benefits both fans and teams. What more could a baseball fan want?
