MLB has proposed shortening the regular season from 162 to 154 games in CBA negotiations with the Players Association.

[TURBO]

3 hours ago, nate82 said:

I would like the season shortened even more.  I would like a 100 game season where teams play 20 5-game series.  With 10 series at home and 10 series on the road.  First game starts at the end of April and the final game in mid September.

Radical.

No way Jose...

[bucks2281]

Interesting ideas but this is a total non-starter (and probably insulting) from the union’s perspective. 

[craigharmann]

17 hours ago, nate82 said:

The first 162 game season wasn’t until 1961. Before that they played 154 games.  So what records and history are being messed with?  

Barry Bonds' "HR record" of course!

[Fear The Chorizo]

I'm on board with shortening the season to 154 games - Should help get rid of the few times each season where it seems like there's no off-day for 3 weeks once a few rainouts/makeup games fill in the schedule.

 

The top seed gets to choose its first round opponent idea is stupid.  And I'd much rather shrink the playoff field if they could find a way to do that to reprioritize regular season success giving teams a better chance to win a championship.  One option that I think could make sense is to both reduce the schedule to 154, and then do away with divisions altogether - and cut out a bunch of the interleague schedule.  Maybe go back to each team having 1 interleague "rival" they play a home and home 4 or 6 game set, then balance the rest of the schedule out so teams in each league play very similar opponents.  Then simply take the top 4 teams in each league and have 7 game series in the Division and LCS rounds before a best of 7 world series.

[JosephC]

If they go to a 154 game schedule, I would expect ticket prices to go up a minimum of 5.2% for 95% of the seats, with the exception of a few really low priced crappy seats.

[Samurai Bucky]

Both ideas are dumb.  I don't need to have two months worth of playoffs.  I like the format the way it is.

[nate82]

They just need to eliminate the road games for the division series.  Keep it at 5 but all 5 games are at the highest seeds stadium.  The league championship series would still have a home and away games.

I wouldn’t mind also having the World Series played in neutral stadiums.  It would be one for each league.  The stadiums must have a roof or be in a warm weather climate with low chances of rain.  So basically Houston, Phoenix, LA, San Diego, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Tampa Bay, Milwaukee and Toronto.  I may have missed a domed team or a city where rain would be unlikely with a warm climate.  

[thammondwis]

I like the 154 gm schedule.  They have essentially added about 2 weeks to the season with the wild card and divisional playoff rounds.  I do recall how difficult it was just to make the playoffs when only 4 teams per year made it in.  The season is too long in my opinion.  WS should be closer to mid Oct.

I don't like any of the other suggested changes.