Today is October 22nd, and the World Series kicks off tomorrow, but get this: both the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays, our two Fall Classic teams, have been chilling for over 60 percent of the days since the regular season wrapped up on September 27th. Yeah, you read that right. We are 25 days out from the end of the regular season, and neither of these teams has played more than ten games in that three-and-a-half-week stretch. Does this bother anybody else?
Baseball Isn’t Built For This Much Down Time
Baseball is a sport designed to be played, well, almost every single day. That’s the rhythm, the heartbeat of the game. But for teams making deep runs in October, that’s just not happening. Somewhere along the way, with this ever-expanding postseason format, we’ve turned the game into something far less than its best self. We get a game where power dominates, where a never-ending parade of rested relievers absolutely overwhelms helpless hitters, and we’re all just sitting around waiting for a mistake or two, hoping a couple of guys go yard. I’m sorry, but baseball is so, so much better than this.
Stacked Series Are Killing The Everyday Game
Now, to be fair, part of the reason the Rays and Brewers have played so few games this month is because, in this particular iteration of the Fall Classic, we truly do have the two best teams. They won their series quickly and decisively, and despite a noticeable lack of drama this October, I’m still expecting a great World Series. However, while we sit here with no baseball again today, the mind wanders: Is a future of best-of-seven series stacked on top of each other really what’s best for the sport? Because, let’s be honest, the LDS is getting expanded sooner rather than later, which could mean even more off days. We’re turning off the game’s daily pulse.
Imagine October As A 21-Game Brawl
So what if we just flipped October on its head? What if, instead of all these teams playing in separate, drawn-out series, we turned October into a mini pennant race? Think about it: Get down to the last eight teams, then have everybody play each other in a round-robin format. That’s 21 games for everyone, comprised of seven three-game series. The higher seed gets to be the home team for most or all of those games. The two teams with the best records go straight to the World Series. You bake in extra incentive automatically because the first tiebreaker is head-to-head record over this stretch. Plus, every fanbase suddenly cares about everybody else, which is an added bonus. Whether we like it or not, baseball in 2026 is a sport where if your team is out, you check out. This changes everything.
Yeah, the World Series starts tomorrow, and even with all these off days, it’s still the Brewers and Rays, the two best teams, so we’re hoping for some epic baseball. But honestly, as fans, we gotta ask if waiting around for a couple of guys to go yard is really the best we can do. There’s a better way for October, a way that makes every single game matter and keeps the heartbeat of baseball pounding every day.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Over the Monster.
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