Didi Gregorius Throws Shade at MLB for Rumored Playoff Format Changes
Major League Baseball is reportedly hoping to make a radical change to the playoff format. 14 teams would make the postseason and there would be byes, three-game opening series, and teams picking their opponents on live TV.
This would serve as one of the more extreme rule changes under MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Didi Gregorius wondered aloud, on Twitter, why Manfred keeps changing the game so many love.
Why are we changing this loveable sport so much ?
— Sir Didi Gregorius (@DidiG18) February 11, 2020
Gregorius has a point. No one is directly asking for this change, or for others like a pitch clock or a three-batter minimum for pitchers.
It's weird that Rob Manfred desperately wants to change the on-field product of baseball to make it more "appealing" (to whom, I have no clue) yet every one of his ideas tops out at "meh" and usually flirts with "a disaster in the making."
— Jon Tayler, Smiling Politely (@JATayler) February 10, 2020
At a time when the league is dealing with one of the biggest scandals in its history, news of a wild change to the playoff format leaks out. This totally ignores the real problems in the game and players like Gregorius may be left wondering who the changes are being made for in the first place.
The players do ultimately have to approve major changes in collective bargaining. This may be where the union puts its foot down and says enough to Manfred.