Commissioner Rob Manfred says reseeding playoff teams after the wild-card games is "an idea worth talking about" but added that postseason changes are unlikely.
Manfred attended Wednesday's National League wild-card game between the 98-win Pittsburgh Pirates and 97-win Chicago Cubs, and he is well aware of complaints about the playoff format that have arisen over having two of MLB's three winningest teams meet in a single-game, winner-take-all format.
But Manfred told ESPN.com that he considers it an "aberrational year" to have a division such as the National League Central, in which three teams won at least 97 games.
"We try not to get too caught up in the individual results from any particular season," Manfred said. "I believe this is the first time you've had three teams with records this strong in a single division. So redoing your system, based on a once-in-history event, seems a little excessive to me."
Manfred said he is a firm believer in the importance of division races.
"There has to be every incentive to win the division, and we think we have a format that does that," he said. "I think we had an aberrational year this year, in terms of three really strong teams [in the NL Central]. And I think it would have to happen more frequently for us to take it as something that would merit a real rethinking."
Because the St. Louis Cardinals went 100-62, the Pirates and Cubs were forced to play in the wild-card game. The Cubs, by virtue of winning, will have to play the Cardinals in the National League Division Series. Their 197 regular-season victories are 15 more than the two first-place teams that will meet in the other NLDS, the Los Angeles Dodgers (92-70) and New York Mets (90-72).
The commissioner said he is willing to consider the idea of reseeding the playoffs in each league after the wild-card game so that the two winningest teams don't meet before the league championship series.
"I think the reseeding idea, of all the suggestions that have been made, is the one that has the most appeal to me," Manfred said. "I'm not sure I would support it, but it is one that I would recognize the logic of. And I think it's consistent with, and wouldn't be too disruptive, in terms of additional games. And it is an idea worth talking about.
"I think there is a fairness," the commissioner added, "to the idea that you take a look at everything after the wild-card games and say, 'You ought to get a little something for the fact that your record might have been better than a division winner.'"
Manfred acknowledged that there are people in the sport pushing for a re-examination of the postseason format in other ways. He made it clear he hasn't made any decisions but is open to listening to proposals.
"One of the things that we've tried to do is to be open to conversations on topics like this, that are related to the competitive issues in the game," Manfred said. "So I think that because of the results of this year, there will be conversations we should have internally on this topic. But I personally don't expect any change."