Bud Selig has until March 1 to officially make his decision on whether Major League Baseball's wild card system will expand to two teams this season or next, but Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci says that it's likely to come much sooner than that with the likeliest possibility that the upcoming 2012 season will include the change. If so, young teams like the Kansas City Royals should rejoice since their return to relevance could come sooner than later.
Verducci writes, "Unofficially, such strong support and momentum is in place to get the system up and running this year that teams are operating as if two more postseason spots will be up for grabs this season. 'Nobody is against it,' said one high-ranking official, 'so I'm going to assume it will get done. And I'm sure it won't be long before somebody complains about losing a one-game playoff to a team that won 15 fewer games. But there's an answer to that [complaint]: win your division and stay out of that game.'"
If the Royals were to make their way into the playoffs, even into the new expanded position, that sort of playoff experience would bolster a young line-up in very significant ways. Royals fans definitely have more to root for than they have in a long time and Selig's announcement could make 2012 even more exciting.