Did you know, in fact, Mike... that in 1981, the Cincinnati Reds had the best NL West season record and didn't reach the playoffs at all? The Dodgers won the first half, Astros the second, and Dodgers were only 1 over .500 in the second half.
Haha, yes I know that, though I've never understood the whole split season thing. Like why was that necessary? (And I still don't understand why some minor leagues still use a split season set up these days).
1981 was one of the more sustained player strikes mid-season. A precursor to the 1990 lockout and 1994 season ending strike and World Series cancellation.
Right. I understand the labor issue. But I don't see why it necessitated the split season playoff structure. Why not just take the total wins/losses setup?
Per Wikipedia, it was an owners' decision. I would assume (as it is now) an issue of more playoff teams meaning more playoff games and therefore more money. It's always about the money.
this is how i know i should go to bed... i thought for some reason these were runs scored instead of series outcomes and i was like what are the odds these are all 4 😅
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@darthbluesky.bsky.social @mollyknight.bsky.social 👀
A messy business.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Major_League_Baseball_strike#The_split-season_format