In the first change to the MLB playoff structure since the 1995 season, when wild-card teams were first introduced, a new one-game, wild-card round will be added in each league between the teams with the best records who are not division winners. The new postseason system, which would have allowed the Red Sox and the Braves to avoid their historic collapses last season, increases the reward of a winning a division title, but opens the door of the possibility of a third-place team winning the World Series.
