“We are excited to announce the expansion of the 2020 postseason,” Commissioner Rob Mandred said in a press release. “This season will be a sprint to a new format that will allow more fans to experience playoff baseball. We look forward to a memorable Postseason concluding a year like no other and appreciate the continued partnership and enthusiasm of ESPN and TBS.”
The first round will feature eight best-of-three Wild Card series. All games will be played on the home fields of the division winners and the best second-place record. The games will take place Sept. 29-Oct. 2.
The second round, the Division Series, will be five games as usual, and the league championship series and World Series will remain best-of-seven series. The dates of those rounds have not been announced.
“The opportunity to add playoff games in this already-abbreviated season makes sense for fans, the league and players,” said Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. “We hope it will result in highly-competitive pennant races as well as exciting additional playoff games to the benefit of the industry and all involved heading into next year.”
The 60-game season starts Thursday night with games between the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cincinnati Reds open the season at 6:10 p.m. Friday against the Detroit Tigers.
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