Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently came out as a proponent for the MLB restructuring the length of the National League Division Series.
Roberts is currently coaching the Dodgers through the 2024 NLDS and has his team one win away from reaching the National League Championship Series. However, seeing that his exceptional work in the regular season led to Los Angeles coming away with the best record in the big leagues at 98-64, L.A. had to wait five days from the end of the 162-game slate until the start of their NLDS series against the San Diego Padres.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says 7-game NLDS would “absolutely” remedy series flaws
According to Sportico’s Barry M. Bloom, Roberts believes that the Division Series, which is currently five games, should be extended to seven games moving forward, as it would benefit league champions who have to shake off any rust that may build up during near-week long layoff:
“Right now, I wish it were seven games,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Wednesday. “Obviously the seven-game series certainly gives a better test of the opponents. We’ll see if we can work on that. But I definitely like the seven-game series for sure.”
Would it be a remedy for sitting around those five days?
“No doubt, absolutely,” Roberts responded.
The injury-stricken Dodgers benefitted from extra rest leading up to the 2024 NLDS
The Dodgers actually benefitted from the five days of rest, which gave multiple star players on their team a chance to get more time to recover from varying ailments, including first baseman Freddie Freeman having the chance to nurse his injured ankle. On the other side of the token, the Dodgers’ rotation did not play up to their standard through their first three games.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto ended the regular season strong with a 13-2 win against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 28, thanks to his six-strikeout, two-earned runs performance, but the Japanese star rookie followed that up with a forgettable MLB playoff debut where he conceded five earned runs in three innings. Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler also struggled in Games 2 and 3, giving up four and six earned runs respectively.
Thankfully for Los Angeles, their sluggers came to play and did not fall victim to stiff legs, as Shohei Ohtani has continued to play like the MVP frontrunner he is, Teoscar Hernandez and Freeman have provided great slugging behind him, and Mookie Betts just broke out of a two-year long playoff drought.
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Should the MLB listen to Roberts & consider restructuring the Division Series format?
Nevertheless, one year can be taken in a vacuum. Overall, Roberts, who has managed the Dodgers since 2016 and led them to nine NLDS appearances in that span, would know all too well what would service each team competing in the Division Series most going forward, and what would be best for the sport on all fronts.
Plus, as Bloom accentuated, history shows that league champions don’t fare well in the current five-game format, given that “No National League division winner has made it to the LCS in the current playoff structure.” Thus, the MLB may consider changing things to continue bringing baseball back to the forefront of American sports.
