Wild Card Adds Intrigue to Baseball

For baseball purists, there’s not a whole lot to like about what Bud Selig has done to the national pastime.

More proof of that came Wednesday when Selig said he wasn’t likely to do anything about Melky Cabrera winning the NL batting title while serving a 50-game suspension for a positive drug test. He also said he has no plans to do some things he should have done a long time ago — like take Barry Bonds’ name off the top of the career home run list and restore Roger Maris as the legitimate single-season home run record holder.

Purists may object, but they should understand that Selig’s main job is not to uphold decades of baseball tradition, but to make baseball owners money.

Give Selig credit for doing his job well. There are new stadiums in almost every city, teams are being sold for astonishing sums, and Major League Baseball is so attractive that ESPN doubled down on it last month with a new contract that pays about $700 million a year.

And even the purists have to be rethinking the one moneymaking idea that really works — the addition of two new wildcard slots to the playoffs.

Without it, the New York Yankees might be a short losing streak away from not making the postseason at all. With it, the Baltimore Orioles have a good shot at the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.

Without it, the St. Louis Cardinals would have no chance of repeating their improbable run to a World Series title. With it, the Oakland A’s are suddenly a threat.

We may never have a day in baseball again like the final day of last year’s regular season, when after three blown saves and two walk-off wins, the Cardinals and Tampa Bay made the playoffs. But the first day of this postseason could come close, with two teams moving on and two others eliminated in the space of a few hours.

It’s a tantalizing prospect, even for baseball fans who remember the days when finishing on top of the regularseason standings was a guaranteed ticket into the World Series.

Imagine the Yankees having to jet across the country to play one game in Oakland, with the loser done for the season.

How about the Cardinals against the Atlanta Braves — one game, winner take all.

It’s all part of the beauty of a game that stretches from the first warm days of spring to the chilly nights of fall.

The addition of two wild-card teams gives fans more reasons to hope in September.

Like almost every idea hatched by Selig, it was designed to make money — and this one actually works.