Bud Selig surveyed the sports landscape. To his left were the NBA and NHL, leagues whose playoffs last several rounds and even more lunar cycles. To his right were baseball fans still in a frantic mania from the sudden death conclusion of MLB’s regular season. In the distance lay mountains of television revenue. “I know what I must do,” Selig inaudibly mumbled to himself. “Before I retire as commissioner and assume complete control of the LA Dodgers, I must expand the playoffs.” Selig was overtaken by the excitement from the possibility of more games and revenue and promptly lost consciousness. When he awoke, this divinely delivered parchment sat before him—the MLB playoff structure of his dreams.
