HBT: Additional wild-card team wouldn't hurt drama

As the frantic battle for the wild card concludes in both leagues, the one thing you can get everyone to agree on is how much of a bummer it would be if there were five playoff teams in each league instead of four. If that were the case ?as is being proposed for the future ? we?d have the Cardinals, Rays, Red Sox and Braves all safely in the big dance and we?d just be marking time until Friday.

But as The Common Man points out over at The Platoon Advantage today, even though a fifth wild card would suck the drama out of 2011?s race, that?s not the truth in many years. ?In fact, after looking back at what the race for a theoretical fifth playoff spot would have looked like since 1995, TCM concludes thusly:

?? historically the theoretical 5th playoff spot has been hotly contested, even down to the wire. In fact, the race for 5th has been a nail-biter far more often than it?s been a laugher ??since the Wild Card was introduced in 1995, the 5th playoff spot has been clinched on the last two days of the season 19 times out of a possible 32, and there has been at least one close finish every year with the exception of 1999.?

That?s pretty good. And while every time you lower the bar a little bit you allow a slightly worse team to be the one fighting for that last spot, it?s the drama, not the quality we?re all getting off on this week. I mean, Boston and Atlanta stink on ice right now, and that?s making this all great fun. ?Who cares if the late season drama comes as the result of futility rather than excellence?

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/09/27/an-additional-wild-card-team-would-not-screw-up-all-the-drama/related/

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