The Major League Baseball season has taken on all types of rumors this off-season, going from a delayed season to a proposal of 82 games to 114 games and now to 50.
But if the season is based on a season of only 50 games plus the playoffs, what is the point of even playing a season? Fifty games are less than one-third of the games that are played during a regular season of 162 games, and 54 is exactly one-third.
Teams playing 50 or 54 games are equivalent to basketball and hockey teams playing 27 games and football teams playing six games. If an NFL team were to lose their first two games, the odds are stacked against them to even make the playoffs. A similar concept holds the same value to MLB teams.
The biggest winners from a 50-game season would be the teams with the youngest and inexperienced players. The Seattle Mariners have been known to get off to extremely hot starts in the first few weeks of the season and then go into an extended slump where they would remain for the rest of the season.
It is possible there would be a couple of teams in the playoffs who would not have had a shot at a World Series title if an entire season was played or even 82 games. That would also mean that a couple of teams that were expected to make the playoffs will not make it. There are underdog teams every season and teams that do not live up to expectations, but the circumstances are much different this season.
To that extent, what will the worth of a World Series title be? There is no doubt that it would not have the same value as playing an entire season and then battling it out in the playoffs. At that point, it is truly survival of the fittest.
Every game will have the same value as a three-game series since there would be 66 percent fewer games played. A way to look at that is if a game is won, then a team swept a three-game set and vice versa for the team that lost.
Players are also given the option of opting-out of the season and only receiving service time if they find that it is too risky to play, a few of which will be done.
The NFL, NHL and NBA have all agreed on the season and playoff formats. Baseball is the only remaining team that has not come to a conclusion on whether or not there will even be a season. Hopefully, something can get done, but the more games that can be played the better it will be.
