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Tuesday 11 February 2020
AP source: MLB considering expanding playoffs to 14 teams

By RONALD BLUM in the World Series. Post-
AP Baseball Writer season teams doubled to
NEW YORK (AP) — Major four with the split of each
League Baseball is consid- league into two divisions in
ering expanding the play- 1969, then to eight with the
offs to nearly half the 30 realignment to three divi-
teams and allowing higher- sions and the addition of
seeded wild-card teams to a wild card in 1995, a year
choose opponents. later than planned due to
The playoffs would grow a players' strike.
from 10 clubs to 14 under The postseason reached its
the plan, first reported Mon- current 10 with the addition
day by the New York Post. of a second wild card and
There would be four wild a wild-card round in 2012.
cards in each league, up A postseason of 14 teams
from two. would mean 47% of fran-
Details were confirmed by chises reach the playoffs,
a person familiar with the which could cause some
proposal who spoke to The clubs not to go into rebuild-
Associated Press on condi- ing mode.
tion of anonymity because The players' association has
MLB did not authorize any criticized teams for what it
public comments. calls "tanking."
Another person, also speak- In this Oct. 30, 2019, file photo, Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer celebrates with Twelve of the 32 NFL teams
ing on condition of ano- the trophy after Game 7 of the baseball World Series against the Houston Astros in Houston. (38%) reach the playoffs,
Associated Press
nymity, said MLB has been along with 16 of 30 in the
looking at several plans. prehensive conversation ners and wild-card teams among the remaining two NBA (53%) and 16 of 31 in
Any proposal would have about the current state would start in a best-of- wild cards. The top wild the NHL (52%), which ex-
to be negotiated with the of our game," union head three round. card would face whichev- pands to 32 franchises next
players' association. The Tony Clark said in a state- The division winner with the er team is left over after the season.
current collective bar- ment. second-best record would division winners make their Expanded playoffs would
gaining agreement runs Only the division winner choose its opponent from choices. create more content for
through the 2021 season. with the best regular-sea- among the three lowest- The selections would be broadcasters. MLB's con-
"Expanding the playoffs in son record would advance seeded wild-card teams. made on a televised show. tracts with ESPN and Turner
a sensible way is something directly to the Division Se- The division winner with the MLB long restricted its post- run through 2021 and its
worth discussing when ries under the plan. third-best record would season to just the pennant deal with Fox goes through
part of a much more com- The two other division win- then get to pick from winners facing each other 2028.q

Ex-Blue Jays reliever sues Astros in sign-stealing scandal

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For- loss. The suit said the right- posing teams’ signs and
mer major league pitcher hander “was immediately then tipped off their bat-
Mike Bolsinger sued the terminated and cut from ters to off-speed pitches
Houston Astros on Mon- the team, never to return by banging on a garbage
day, claiming their sign- to Major League Baseball can.
stealing scheme contrib- again.” According to Bolsinger’s
uted to a poor relief ap- He was demoted to Triple- lawsuit, graphic designer
pearance in August 2017 A and hasn’t pitched in and web developer Tony
that essentially ended his the major leagues since. Adams wrote a web appli-
big league career. He was 0-3 with a 6.31 ERA cation to document every
Bolsinger’s suit in Los Ange- in 11 appearances with To- instance of banging on
les County Superior Court ronto in 2017. The 32-year- a trash can during Astros
seeks unspecified damag- old pitched in Japan in home games in 2017.
es for interfering with and 2018-19, and is seeking a He found that the most
harming his career. He’s job with a big league club bangs occurred in that
also asking that the Astros for this season. Aug. 4, 2017, game, in-
forfeit their nearly $30 mil- The Astros didn’t immedi- cluding on 12 of 29 pitches
lion in postseason shares ately respond to a request Bolsinger threw, the lawsuit
from their 2017 World Series for comment. said.
title, with the money going Commissioner Rob Man- Hinch told the media that
to children’s charities in fred found the Astros night that it was “not un-
Los Angeles and a fund for broke rules against elec- usual for us to have big
needy retired players. tronic sign stealing in 2017, nights when we put good
According to the suit, Bols- including during the post- at-bats together,” accord-
inger, then a reliever with season. Manager A.J. ing to the lawsuit.
the Toronto Blue Jays, was Hinch and general man- Bolsinger also pitched for
put into a game at Hous- ager Jeff Luhnow were In this Aug. 4, 2017 file photo Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Mike the Arizona Diamond-
ton on Aug. 4, 2017, and fired last month. Bolsinger, left, walks off the mound as Houston Astros' Marwin backs and Los Angeles
allowed four runs, four hits According to MLB’s inves- Gonzalez rounds the bases after hitting a three-run home run Dodgers in his four-year
and three walks in one- tigation, the Astros used during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Houston. career, going 8-19 with a
third of an inning in a 16-7 a video feed to steal op- Associated Press 4.92 ERA.q