MLB proposes 154-game season, longer playoffs, tied to salary cap
Major League Baseball on Thursday proposed cutting the regular season to 154 games from 162 starting in 2029, with most Mondays off. Fans would see longer Division Series, and top seeds could pick their playoff opponents. The league tied the plan to a salary cap the union has vowed never to accept, and the labor deal expires Dec. 1.
Major League Baseball proposed a 154-game regular season on Thursday, down from 162, starting in 2029, and the plan, given to the players' union in labor talks, would also stretch the Division Series from best-of-five to best-of-seven.
The biggest twist is a rule that would let top teams choose their playoff opponents. The third seed in each league would choose whether to face the fifth or sixth seed in the Wild Card Series. In the Division Series, the top seed would pick which wild-card winner to play. The AP reports that change would start next year.
"Returning to a 154-game schedule would allow us to introduce a weekly off day, which is good for player health," MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said. He said the change would also create a new national broadcast window to showcase the sport's most exciting teams and players.
Under the plan, most teams would be off on Mondays, except for one or two nationally broadcast games, and teams that play on a Monday would get Thursday off instead. The AP reports the season would fit 154 games into 180 days, down from 187. MLB said player salaries would not be cut for the fewer games, though bonus targets tied to games played would be adjusted.
The playoffs would add off days and drop early-round afternoon games, which some teams have struggled to fill, and the AP reports the postseason could run up to 42 days.
The catch is money, because MLB said the changes depend on players accepting a salary cap and a salary floor. MLB is the only major U.S. sports league without a cap, CNBC notes. The union said it will respond at the bargaining table, and it said the league "once again made clear that all of its proposals are contingent on players' agreement to a salary cap, a system that guts player rights and compensation."
The current labor deal expires Dec. 1, and the AP reports owners are expected to lock out players in a fight that could delay or wipe out the 2027 season.
A 154-game season is not new, since both leagues used that schedule starting in 1904 before moving to 162 games in the early 1960s. MLB proposed a pick-your-opponent idea in 2022 talks, but players did not agree to it.
What we know: MLB wants a 154-game season and a seven-game Division Series from 2029, tied to a salary cap.
What we don't: Whether players will accept any part of the plan, or whether a lockout will hit the 2027 season.
Where outlets agree The AP, ESPN and CNBC all quote the players' union saying every league proposal is contingent on a salary cap, "a system that guts player rights and compensation."
Where they differ ESPN says MLB expanded to its 162-game schedule in 1960, while the AP says the American League switched in 1961 and the National League in 1962.