I almost feel bad for the Atlanta Braves. Right now they have an 84-60 record for a .583 winning percentage. They’d be leading three of baseball’s six divisions with that record and be tied in the loss column for the lead in a fourth.
But since the Phillies are having an insanely successful year, the Braves are 10 games out of first place in the National League East.
It does make me appreciate the wild card. If the goal is to have baseball’s best teams appear in the postseason tournament, I think the Braves pretty clearly should be there. Does it mean that the Phillies could wind up getting bounced from the playoffs by a team that they outperformed during the regular season? Yes, and if that happens I will be certainly be bummed. But that’s the way that playoffs bounce. They’re short series and the “best” team doesn’t always win. If that bothers you, that’s a reason to get rid of the playoffs and declare the team with the best regular season record the champion. I don’t see any league or television network going for that any time soon.