Remember when Major League Baseball first introduced the Division Series back in 1995? It was a welcome addition for most, but still had its faults. Most notably, the teams that came into the five-game series with “home field advantage” inexplicably went on the road for Games 1 and 2. A foolish oversight for sure, though the issue was promptly fixed. Unfortunately, the 2012 postseason will mark the triumphant, albeit brief return of the bafflingly stupid home field setup.

The following excerpt was taken from the official MLB press release issued back in August. With the playoffs less than a week away, it’s a stark reminder of an idea so thoroughly doused in stupidity that it’s astounding the format was ever considered to begin with, as it makes no sense:

For the 2012 Postseason only, the five-game Division Series will begin with two home games for lower seeds, followed by up to three home games for higher seeds. This one-year change, which eliminates a travel day prior to a decisive Game Five of the Division Series, was necessary because the 2012 regular season schedule was established before the agreement on the new Postseason format was reached. Next year, the Division Series will return to the 2-2-1 format used in previous years.

In summation, since it took so long for Bird Selig and his devoted flock of fickle pigeons to decide on the addition of a second wildcard, this is what the best teams in baseball are stuck with. Sure, next season MLB will return to the format that actually rewards teams with the most wins, but it’s a sad reality that surprise clubs like the Nationals, a team that has won 96 games and could be a one-hit wonder, might potentially host their first home playoff game while staring at elimination. That’s dumber than Lenny Dysktra with a mouth full of Twizzlers.

[via MLB]

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