World Series Home Field

During his press conference prior to Game 2 of the World Series, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred hinted that he's going to talk with the Players' Union about World Series home field.  Ever since 2003, the league that wins the All-Star Game has had home field advantage in the World Series.  In those 14 seasons, the American League is 11-3 in the All-Star Game, meaning the World Series has started in the AL city 11 times during that span.

We, of course, all know the reason why World Series home field was attached to the All-Star Game.  After that ridiculous tie in 2002, Bud Selig wanted to make sure that would never happen again.  So, in order to give the All-Star Game meaning, he attached World Series home field to it.  Seeing as the home field advantage simply alternated between leagues until that point, no one really had a problem with this gimmick.

Eventually they decided to make the World Series home field attachment a regular thing, and this arrangement has certainly drawn its share of critics.  While I personally don't have an issue with the All-Star Game determining World Series home field (it sure beats the old method), those that do certainly do have a valid argument.

Most of those critics would like to see the team with the better record have home field advantage.  In theory that makes sense.  The 103-win Cubs were the best team in baseball this season.  It really is kinda dumb that if this World Series goes seven games, they won't be playing Game 7 at Wrigley.  Shouldn't the best team be rewarded for having the best record?

Like I said, that makes sense in theory.  Except there's a slight problem with simply giving home field to the team with the better record.  You might not know which team that is until two days before the series starts!  If both LCSes go seven games, one would end on Saturday and the other on Sunday.  The World Series starts on Tuesday.  Logistically that's a nightmare.  You can't have the teams find out where they're playing on Tuesday late on Sunday night!  (Yes, they do that in the NHL and NBA, but they also have significantly more days off during the playoffs in those two sports to accommodate that extra travel.)  And what if they have the same record?  Assuming they didn't play each other in interleague, how do you break that tie?

There's one even bigger issue with that scenario, though.  The DH.  The fact that the two leagues play by two different sets of rules is the biggest reason why you can't do it that way.  The DH can be a big factor in the way teams construct their rosters and set up their pitching staffs for the World Series.  They need more than two-days' notice to know whether they're going to have a DH for the first two games or not.  Likewise, if they want a certain pitcher to go at home, can you set him up to pitch Games 2 and 6 both at home?

I'm sure that's not a concern very high on the minds of the casual fan, but this World Series is actually a perfect example on the significance of having the DH vs. not having it.  If the series hadn't started in Cleveland, there's no way the Cubs would've activated Kyle Schwarber and put him in the lineup for the first two games.  And the Indians would've had to figure out their Mike Napoli/Carlos Santana Wrigley dilemma a lot earlier.  For most AL teams, the DH is a pretty important piece of the lineup, so losing it is really not ideal.  Both teams need to prepare for whichever situation they're going to be in with advance notice.

Another suggestion that's been tossed around would be to let the team with the better playoff winning percentage have home field.  Except that would create exactly the same problem as the previous scenario, and, frankly, it makes more sense to use regular season record than postseason record to determine it if those are the two options.  Going back to the old way and simply alternating every year is another option.  Although, I think most people agree about that one, and those opinions generally fall in the same range as the ones about attaching it to the All-Star Game.

Unfortunately, right now, there really aren't any better options that continuing to use the All-Star Game.  I've got a solution that might work, though.  It's kind of a hybrid of using the better regular season record (which, if it worked logistically, which it doesn't, I agree would be the best way).  Actually, I have two, both of which are kinda similar.

The first does reward the team with the best record in baseball for having the best record.  Whichever league the team with the best record plays in, that league gets home field for the World Series.  That way you get to reward them by guaranteeing they get to start (and theoretically finish) every series at home while never not having home field advantage.  The home field doesn't change if the best team is eliminated prior to the World Series, either.  They win it for their league.  So, had the Giants beaten the Cubs, the NL still would've had home field advantage this year.

My other idea is a little bit more out there, but it's the one that I think would actually work the best.  Each team plays 20 interleague games during the season.  That means there are a total of 300 interleague games each year.  How about whichever league does better against the other during interleague play gets the home field?  That would instantly add energy to interleague play, which sometimes can get a bit stale.

Yes, there'e year-round interleague play now, but, if World Series home field was at stake, each of those games would instantly have meaning.  (Imagine if the Cubs, who were running away with the NL Central played an interleague series in mid-September knowing it could affect whether or not the World Series started at Wrigley?)  And if the overall interleague series across Baseball ended up 150-150, then you use the All-Star Game as your tiebreaker, which brings us back to where we are today.

It'll be interesting to see if Manfred's conversation with the Union goes anywhere.  I'm not sure how much of a hot-button issue it is with players.  Really, it's more a topic for fans and media to discuss.  I do know this, though.  The Cubs were happy to have Kyle Schwarber in their lineup as the DH for the first two games of the World Series, just like they will be in Game 7 if it gets that far.  But had the World Series started at Wrigley, he wouldn't even have been playing.  See the difference a DH makes?