The first rounds of the postseason saw three 100-win teams lose to opponents with worse records. Is this a sign of a flawed system or just how baseball works?
Do you accept the results of the 2022 playoffs? This is not some obtuse political metaphor, it’s a conversation being had in some circles after three teams that won more than 100 games in the regular season fell to theoretically inferior squads in the first two rounds of the playoffs. It’s one heck of a debut for baseball’s brand-new postseason format that strikes many fans, particular of those eliminated teams, as essentially unfair.
It started with the 101-win New York Mets, who didn’t even make the National League Division Series. Forced to play the San Diego Padres in a newly established three-game Wild Card series, the Mets managed to win just a single playoff game. The Atlanta Braves, despite earning a bye after just beating the Mets to the NL East title, didn’t fare much better. They managed to eke out the same number of postseason victories as the Mets, losing 3-1 in the NLDS to the Philadelphia Phillies, who finished 14 games below both teams in the NL East standings.
