Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox: 2011 Collapses Don't Happen in 2012

Bud Selig is on the verge of announcing that in 2012, each league will have two wild-card teams. They will face each other in a one-game playoff. Isn't mediocrity wonderful?

In 2011, the Atlanta Braves suffered one of the greatest collapses in history. Of course, if it occurred prior to 1994, no one would have given it a second thought, but since it happened last season, the Braves lost a chance to win the World Series.

At the end of play on Aug. 25, the Braves led the St. Louis Cardinals by 10 1/2 games. The fact that the Braves and Cardinals are in different divisions is irrelevant in determining the wild card.

“We had our chances,” Braves center fielder Michael Bourn said. “Not just this game. You can go weeks before.”

On Sept. 6, the Braves still had a seemingly comfortable 8.5-game lead. The Braves were 9-18 in September to finish one game behind the Cardinals. They lost their last five games, but they were not alone.

Upon reflection, a case could be made that the 2011 Boston Red Sox are the worst choke-up team ever.

The Red Sox blew a nine-game lead they held on Sept. 3. No team that had such a large lead so late in the season ever matched such a dubious achievement.

“This is just maybe the worst situation that I ever have been involved in my whole career,” David Ortiz said. “It’s going to stay in a lot of people’s minds for a while.”

What if there were two wild cards last year?

The Braves' collapse would not have kept them out of the playoffs. The Red Sox collapse would not have kept them out of the playoffs.

The Braves would have played the Cardinals one game to determine the remaining wild card. The Braves' collapse would have been irrelevant.

It might not have been as bad because there wouldn't have been any pressure on the Braves to hold back the surging Cardinals. They might have done a little better.

The same is true for the Red Sox. They would have played the Tampa Bay Rays in one elimination game.

The emphasis for the Cardinals would not have been to catch Atlanta. The emphasis for the Rays would not have been to catch the Red Sox.

The Cardinals, already in the lead for the second wild-card slot, would be concerned with the San Francisco Giants, a team that finished four games behind them at the end.

Tampa's main problem would have to beat out the Anaheim Angels, a team that finished five games behind them.

Adding the wild card in 1994 changed baseball radically. Adding a second wild card will create situations that will produce more world champions that reek of mediocrity.