Picking Postseason Foes? Expanded Playoffs? Playing Only 154 Games? How Proposed Changes Could Impact Games for Players, Fans

The way we watch, follow and love the game of baseball could be about to change forever with a nasty labor scrum about to replace of the pitcher-hitter battles we're currently watching in the playoffs. Even though the game appeared to be at its absolute zenith following an epic, seven-game World Series in 2025, and it set eve more marks in 2026 in terms of attendance and viewing numbers, it’s become evident that change is about to be ushered in again.

MLB ownership wants caps put in place on player's and team's salaries, while hundreds of lower-tier players might actually benefit greatly from the institution of a salary floor that would make traditionally spendthrift franchises plunk down more cash to remain competitive against the teams eager to pay the price of winning.

And those might not even be the biggest changes about to come. How about a “Back to the Future” move where MLB wipes out eight games for each team and reverts to a 154-game season, a schedule that hasn’t been in place since 1960? While fewer games and more off days might help with player safety, never has a diehard fan openly wished for less baseball.      

Fewer games, something that might allow for MLB to feature exclusive broadcast windows to TV networks and/or streaming platforms one night a week, is expected to be one of the hot-topic issues owners and players will bat back and forth once the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires at midnight on Dec. 1.

Already, opening salvos have been fired off by the two sides, giving a glimpse as to the changes that are coming and the likely strife that will ensue. One such landmark change, floated out by MLB earlier this week, was the revised, 154-game schedule. Such a move would allow for further expansion of the playoffs and even a plan devised to give teams options of selecting their opponents in the postseason. Here is a breakdown of what the new schedule could look like and the impact that it would have on the St. Louis Cardinals in the seasons ahead:

A 154-game season

MLB teams used to play 154-game seasons up until 1960, but an extra eight games – four home and four away – were added to give fans more opportunities to see their favorite teams play.

A shift back to 154 games might seem radical, but at least it isn’t unprecedented. If the 154-game schedule is implemented, it wouldn’t begin until 2029 at the earliest, giving teams and fans time to warm up to the idea of less baseball.   

Under the new proposal floated by MLB earlier this week, teams would be off on most Mondays to recover after playing all weekend and to prepare for the week ahead. It would be very similar to the schedules used in the Minor Leagues for years – one that allows for recovery and/or travel on Mondays to prepare for the week’s upcoming games.

There are, of course, exceptions to the new rule. MLB would still schedule one to two games every Monday night that would allow games to be played in exclusive broadcast windows.

How it impacts the Cardinals:

While broadcasting back-to-back games in the East and the Pacific Time Zones would likely work without much disruptions, teams based in the Central Time Zone, such as the Cardinals, could see major changes to their start times as MLB tries to fit in made-for-TV doubleheaders each Monday night.  

Fewer games and more off days could help to keep players healthier over the grind of the long season. Fewer games could increase the percentage of games played by the top players, killing out those dreaded “get-away day games” that often resemble Spring Training games with the stars resting on the benches.   

Maybe it’s because they had MLB’s youngest roster most of the season, but the Cardinals were MLB’s healthiest team over the 2026 season. They lost just 15 players to 16 Injured List stints in 2026. For whatever reason, their injuries did seem to cluster in late August when the club took a nosedive in the standings, and it fell out of Wild Card contention.

How the schedule would impact player salaries, records

Fewer games would mean fewer chances for players to post stats, which could end many of the chase for the modern-day records set over 162-game seasons. In the years after MLB switched from 154 games to 162 games, newly attained records came accompanied with asterisks – most famously with Roger Maris hitting his 61st home run in Game 162 of the 1961 season to eclipse Babe Ruth’s 37-year-old mark of 60 home runs swatted during the 154-game 1927 season.  

How would the shorter schedule impact fans?

With eight fewer games on the schedule, it would presumably give Cardinals fans four fewer chances to see the team play at Busch Stadium and four fewer possibilities for road trips to other MLB cities.

Despite featuring a youth-filled roster in 2026, the Cardinals were a better road team (39-42) than they were at home (38-42). The records were somewhat skewed by a poor finish that saw the Cards drop nine of their last 11 games, and five of their last six on the road. St. Louis averaged 5.06 runs a game and hit 99 homers on the road, while scoring just 3.82 runs and slugging only 68 homers at home.

One major fear for fans is that with fewer games, MLB teams could raise prices for tickets, parking, concession stand items and merchandise to try and make up for the losses in revenue.

How a shorter schedule would impact the league

While fewer games overall would almost assuredly mean less in-stadium revenue, the league’s ability to present standalone broadcast windows on Monday nights could make their media deals more lucrative so that neither the ownership not player sides take financial hits.

Seven-game Division Series in the playoffs

The ultimate end game to shortening the regular season, of course, is further expansion of the playoffs. But in some instances, more would not necessarily be better. Shifting from five-game series to seven-game would likely result in fewer playoff upsets. For years, MLB has sought ways to make things more difficult for teams that get to the playoffs as Wild Cards instead of division winners, and this might finally accomplish that feat.   

Pick your own playoff opponent

Undoubtedly, this change is certain to be the one that shakes baseball to its core the most.

In the wild card round, the team that finishes as the No. 3 seed, would get a choice of playing either the No. 5 or the No. 6 seed in the opening, best-of-three series. The No. 4 seeded team would then face the team not chosen.

Then, in the expanded seven-game Division Series, the No. 1 seed would get its choice of which team it would prefer to play. The No. 2 seed would then play the remaining foe.

This season, the third-seeded Astros could have avoided the White Sox and instead chosen to play the Red Sox. In the NL, the Braves could have avoided another showdown with the Phillies and instead chosen the injury-ravaged Cubs.

The top-seeded Rays and Brewers emerged from their Division Series, but having a choice could have allowed Tampa Bay to avoid another showdown with the Yankees, a team it ultimately swept.

This radical change, if approved, would begin in 2027 and it would inject some serious drama and intrigue into the playoffs never before seen.

Reminder

All these changes are contingent on the league implementing salary caps and salary floors into the next CBA. Like the proposed changes? Hate them? These are just some of the ideas already being floated between the two sides in hopes of finding some common ground in what figures to be a contentious labor battle.