Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association are in the midst of labor negotiations well in advance of the potential expiration date of the current CBA (I believe it's this offseason). As the two sides negotiate the terms of a new deal, an interesting proposal has arisen involving the current alignment of the American League and National League. Reports indicate the league is pondering removing divisional alignment and moving a team back into the American league. This would create two 15-team leagues with the top five teams in each league earning a playoff spot.
What do you think of what would be a fairly radical change in the structure of the leagues?
Baseball used to go with two leagues and no divisions, but expansion over the years has resulted in six divisions across three leagues, with three division winners and a wildcard in each league. Under this proposed change, the A's and Giants would not be affected in terms of a playoff berth. The A's are riding in the AL West cellar and the Giants lead the NL West. Under this new system, the Giants would be the fifth team into the playoffs and the A's would be second from the bottom ahead of the Minnesota Twins.
This kind of realignment would result in a variety of changes, one of which could be more interleague play spread throughout the year, at least based on what Buster Olney just said on ESPN. The A's and Giants already play six games a year so I have to wonder if it means adding in more games with other opponents.
As it currently stands, you could argue this shows just how healthy the MLB-MLBPA relationship is that they can discuss some fairly radical ideas in their labor negotiations. Then you've got the NFL and NFLPA which has to work out some of the more basic things in their relationship like basic trust.