Major League Baseball on Thursday asked its players to trade eight regular-season games for a longer October and a new right for the best clubs to choose their opponents. The package, tabled in the latest collective bargaining session, would cut the schedule from 162 games to 154, stretch the Division Series from best-of-five to best-of-seven, and let higher seeds pick opponents in the first two rounds.
The timing is awkward. The current labor deal must be replaced by December, and owners are still pushing a salary cap the union has refused. A lockout that could interrupt next season remains on the table if those talks stall.
“has proposed returning to a 154-game Regular Season, best-of-seven Division Series, and opponent selection in the Wild Card and Division Series,” said a league statement.
The league sold the cut as a health measure. Eight fewer games would open a standard weekly off day, mostly on Mondays, with room for one or two national broadcasts. Baseball used 154 games as its regular length for decades before the American League moved to 162 in 1961 and the National League followed in 1962.
Under the proposal, both the shorter season and the best-of-seven Division Series would begin in 2029. The Division Series has been best-of-five since the round arrived in 1995. Stretching it to seven could add as many as eight games, roughly replacing what the regular season loses, while extra off days would lengthen October, trim weekday afternoon windows and push more games into primetime. The Wild Card round would stay a best-of-three.
MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said returning to 154 games would “allow us to introduce a weekly off day, which is good for player health, while also creating a new national broadcast window to showcase our most exciting teams and players.” He added that a shorter summer “unlocks making October even better for our fans, with fewer weekday afternoon games, a longer Division Series, and more opportunities to see the game’s best pitchers on the biggest stage.”
Opponent selection would start in 2027 if the sides agree. After the regular season, the No. 3 seed in each league, the division winner with the weakest record, could choose the No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the Wild Card round. The No. 4 seed would play whoever was left.
The No. 1 seed, already on a bye, would then pick which Wild Card winner it wanted in the Division Series. The No. 2 seed would take the other club. argues the choice would reward the best regular-season records, remove any advantage in finishing as the third wild card, and create instant bulletin-board material the moment a team is singled out.
None of the scheduling ideas stand on their own. Owners want a salary cap and a floor, citing payroll gaps they say have damaged competition. The players’ association has opposed any move that would cut what clubs can pay, and has accused owners of trying to save money.
In a statement to AFP, the union said it was reviewing the proposals and would let players weigh in before answering at the table.
“Unfortunately, the league once again made clear that all of its proposals are contingent on players’ agreement to a salary cap, a system that guts player rights and compensation, as well as its other anti-player proposals,” said the Major League Baseball Players Association statement.
Until that condition moves, a 154-game summer and a choose-your-opponent October remain bargaining chips, not a calendar.
