When Major League Baseball implemented its current playoff format in 2022, it came with a new benefit for certain teams. The top two seeds in the National and American Leagues would receive a first-round bye, avoiding playing in a best-of-three Wild Card Series.
In theory, the bye was a reward for teams that had a lot of success in the regular season. It meant rest. It meant their season wasn’t on the line in a potential three-game series; a series where there’s very little room for error. The bye was a good thing.
But, in practice, the five-day layoff didn’t appear to be helpful.