Rob Manfred exclusive: Commissioner says MLB plans to have fans at NLCS, World Series

And now, with the postseason beginning Sept. 29, with an expanded 16-team format that Manfred has no interest in continuing under its current structure, there will be fans to provide authentic crowd noise, beginning with the NLCS on Oct. 12 at 40,300-seat Globe Life Field.

“We are pressing ahead to have fans in Texas,’’ said Manfred, with a ticket sales announcement expected soon. “One of the most important things to our game is the presence of fans. Starting down the path of having fans in stadiums, and in a safe and risk-free environment, is very, very important to our game.’’

Manfred would like the postseason to be expanded from 10 teams in the past to 14 in the future, which was discussed last winter, but not 16. The team with the best record in each league would receive a first-round bye, under MLB’s proposal, while the other two division winners in each league would choose their first-round opponent in the best-of-three-series.

“Look, 16 teams, was a really good solution for the unique environment we had in 2020,’’ Manfred said. “But I want to be clear, when I talked about the expanded playoffs going forward before COVID ever hit, we never talked about 16 teams as a permanent solution. We never talked about more than 14 teams. Those plans addressed marginalizing the value of winning the division, and preserving the competitiveness through the regular season.

“The expanded playoffs cover a vast waterfront, but what we discussed was a very different format than we’re seeing now.’’

Expanded playoffs beyond 2020? Inside the MLB push — and the pushback

But, in a post-pandemic era, the prospect of additional MLB revenue from an expanded postseason has gone from “we’d like it” to “we need it.” As a high-profile example, the New York Yankees’ ticket revenue next year could be down 33% from last year, and ticket sales might not fully recover until 2024, according to Fitch, the credit rating agency, which this week evaluated a Yankee Stadium bond refinancing.

That provides the players with some rare clout in labor talks. The players union must approve any playoff expansion, and it is no secret how badly the owners want that money. The league included an expanded postseason in each of the four offers it made the union in return-to-play negotiations. After negotiations failed and Manfred imposed the season, the league again asked for an expanded postseason for 2020 and 2021; the players got $50 million and signed off for this year only.

“There’s a lot of concern about it, whether it’s even a good idea,” a high-ranking baseball official said, “There’s a lot of concern about whether it’s going to incentivize or disincentivize competition.”

Everything to know about expanded playoffs

The top three seeds (Nos. 1-3) in each league will go to the three division winners (East, Central, West) in order of record.

The next three seeds (Nos. 4-6) will go to the three teams that finish in second place in their division, in order of record.

The final two seeds (Nos. 7-8) will go to the two teams with the next best records, regardless of division and division standing. Because the first- and second-place teams in each division automatically advance to October, the 7 and 8 seeds are the actual “Wild Card teams.”

Report: MLB, MLBPA discussing expanded playoffs

No, this is not a re-run.

Jon Heyman reports that MLB and the MLBPA are discussing expanded playoffs following the 60-game regular season. The current idea is to expand the total number of playoff teams from 10 to 16.

Despite back-and-forth negotiations in May and June, the two sides were unable to successfully renegotiate the temporary March agreement, which set into place many of the details for the 2020 season. As a result, commissioner Rob Manfred enacted the 2020 season at 60 games following a unanimous vote from the owners. The playoffs remained the same as in previous seasons.

MLB could still have expanded postseason in 2020: ‘I’ll be available to discuss it,’ Tony Clark says

Major League Baseball could still expand its postseason format for the 2020 season, MLB Players Association Tony Clark told Ronald Blum of the Associated Press.

Though the lack of an agreement between the league and the players about the rules governing the shortened season means the league is likely to move forward with a normal, 10-team playoff format, MLB could still try to make another proposal for an expanded postseason. Clark told Blum he’s open to the possibility.

“I would simply say that if there’s interest to discuss something, I’ll be available to discuss it,” Clark said.