World Series 2011: Changes Must Occur as Wild Card Cardinals Get Home-Field

In what twisted world does a team’s rival help them get home-field advantage in the World Series?

Baseball, that’s where.

The Wild Card-winning St. Louis Cardinals got hot at the right time and rightfully earned a spot in the Fall Classic after knocking off the mighty Phillies and Brewers. Yet their 90 wins don’t quite measure up to the 96 that the Texas Rangers secured in the long and grueling regular season.

Yes, that Rangers team who actually won their division.

In the NBA and NHL, that would give the Rangers the benefit of having an extra game in the confines of their own park.

In MLB, the league that wins the All-Star game automatically gets home-field advantage. So when Prince Fielder hit the game-winning homer back in July at the Midsummer Classic, the N.L. was awarded the game no matter what.

Many of the top players from both sides skip the All-Star game for reasons as small as a cut cuticle, yet somehow it ends up determining what team has the advantage in the most important series of the season.

So when I tell you that 23 of the past 30 teams with the additional home game have won the championship, you start to wonder why such a trivial game is responsible for determining such an important decision. Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com takes it a step further:

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"But when thinking about this Cardinals-Rangers situation, we must also keep the following in mind: Wild Card clubs with home-field advantage in the Fall Classic have gone 3-1. (The 1997 Marlins, 2002 Angels and 2004 Red Sox won; the 2006 Tigers lost.) Wild Card winners without the home-field edge have gone 1-4. (The 2003 Marlins won, and the 2000 Mets, 2002 Giants, 2005 Astros and 2007 Rockies lost.)"

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I understand that it makes the All-Star game much more exciting, but there has to be a better way.

Is there a way to give the All-Star game winner some sort of contract bonus? Or a huge trivial trophy?

Ok, so those may not be the greatest ideas, but it’s obvious that they need to give the team with the better record the home-field advantage that they rightfully earned over the 162-game marathon.