95-97 Home Field Advantage Question

[WolfSpear]

Hi,

I was curious about home field advantage during the early years of the Division Series. I know the seeds were randomly pre-determined before the season, but how was the LCS advantage handled?

In the 1995 NLCS, the #2 Reds had the advantage over the #1 Braves ... is this a mistake or am I missing something about the old method?

[EdTarbusz]

In 1995 the Indians had the best record in baseball and didn't have the home field advantage for any of the three post-season series that they appeared in.

[Nerdlinger]

As near as I can determine, MLB used the most byzantine system they could think of for deciding HFA in the LDS and LCS for 1994-97. They arbitrarily set priorities for the divisions in terms of which division champ gets HFA; the divisions would rotate in priority each season. The champ from the lowest priority division could never get HFA in the LDS and could only get HFA in the LCS if playing the wild card. The wild card could never get HFA in either the LDS or LCS. Also, two teams from the same division couldn't meet in the LDS. Division champs were seeded by record, with wild cards automatically given 4th seed. The division champ with the best record would play the wild card team unless any of the conditions above were violated. Then it got complicated. Furthermore, the team which received HFA in the LCS was determined by HFA priority and not seed. Note that HFA equated to the last three games of the Best-of-5 LDS at home, and of course the first and last two games of the Best-of-7 LCS at home.

HFA priority (I determined these merely via inference)

NL
1994: West, Central, East (presumably)
1995: Central, East, West
1996: East, West, Central
1997: West, Central, East

AL
1994: East, Central, West (presumably)
1995: West, East, Central
1996: Central, West, East
1997: East, Central, West

~~~~~~

1995 NL
(Central, East, West)

Seeds (* = WC)
1. Braves (East, 90-54) -- HFA priority = 2
2. Reds (Central, 85-59) -- HFA priority = 1
3. Dodgers (West, 78-66) -- HFA priority = 3
4. Rockies* (West, 77-67) -- HFA priority = 4

The Braves are top seed, their division is not lowest priority, and the wild card is in a different division. That means Braves get HFA against the Rockies in the LDS. That also means the Reds play the Dodgers in the other LDS, and the Reds get HFA because the Dodgers are in lowest priority division.

The Braves and Reds advance to the LCS, where seed no longer matters, but HFA priority does. The Reds are in a higher priority division than the Braves and so the Reds get HFA.

~~~~~~

1995 AL
(West, East, Central)

Seeds (* = WC)
1. Indians (Central, 100-44) -- HFA priority = 3
2. Red Sox (East, 86-58) -- HFA priority = 2
3. Mariners (West, 79-66) -- HFA priority = 1
4. Yankees* (East, 79-65) -- HFA priority = 4

The Indians are top seed and the WC is in a different division, but the Central is the lowest priority division, so the Indians can't play at home in the LDS. Since the WC can never have home in either the LDS or LCS, the Indians have to play someone other than the Yankees. The Red Sox and Yankees can't play in the LDS because they're in the same division, so that means the Indians have to play the Red Sox, with the Red Sox receiving HFA because of their higher priority. And then the Mariners get HFA against the Yankees.

The Indians and Mariners advance to the LCS, and the Mariners get HFA due to their higher priority.

~~~~~~

1996 NL
(East, West, Central)

Seeds (* = WC)
1. Braves (East, 96-66) -- HFA priority = 1
2. Padres (West, 91-71) -- HFA priority = 2
3. Cardinals (Central, 88-74) -- HFA priority = 3
4. Dodgers* (West, 90-72) -- HFA priority = 4

This one was relatively simple, since the seeds matched the priorities and the WC was in a different division than the top seed. So in the LDS, Braves get HFA against Dodgers and Padres get HFA against Cardinals.

Cardinals and Braves advance to LCS, and Braves get HFA due to higher priority.

~~~~~~

1996 AL
(Central, West, East)

Seeds (* = WC)
1. Indians (Central, 99-62) -- HFA priority = 1
2. Yankees (East, 92-70) -- HFA priority = 3
3. Rangers (West, 90-72) -- HFA priority = 2
4. Orioles* (East, 88-74) -- HFA priority = 4

Like the 1996 NL, this is fairly straightforward. In the LDS, the Indians get HFA against the Orioles and the Rangers get HFA against the Yankees.

Orioles and Yankees advance to LCS, and Yankees get HFA due to higher priority.

~~~~~~

1997 NL
(West, Central, East)

Seeds (* = WC)
1. Braves (East, 101-61) -- HFA priority = 3
2. Giants (West, 90-72) -- HFA priority = 1
3. Astros (Central, 84-78) -- HFA priority = 2
4. Marlins* (East, 92-70) -- HFA priority = 4

Icky. The Braves are the top seed, but they're in the lowest priority division and the WC is in the same division. So the Braves play the next lowest seed, the Astros, and the Astros get HFA due to their higher priority. This leaves the Giants to play the Marlins, with the Giants getting HFA.

Braves and Marlins advance to LCS, and Braves get HFA due to higher priority.

~~~~~~

1997 AL
(East, Central, West)

Seeds (* = WC)
1. Orioles (East, 98-64) -- HFA priority = 1
2. Mariners (West, 90-72) -- HFA priority = 3
3. Indians (Central, 86-75) -- HFA priority = 2
4. Yankees* (East, 96-66) -- HFA priority = 4

Very icky. The Orioles are the top seed and have the highest priority, but the WC is in the same division. So the Orioles would have played the next worst seed, the Indians, except that would mean that the Mariners, from the lowest priority division, would play the wild card, the Yankees. Since neither the Mariners nor Yankees could have HFA in the LDS, the Orioles had to play the next worst seed after the Indians (i.e., the only team left), the Mariners. (The Orioles got HFA against the Mariners.) Thus the Indians -- the division champ with the worst record -- got to play the WC (and got HFA, naturally), the Yankees. Since the wild card is ostensibly the worst team of the four (which is why it's seeded last, despite its record, which in this case is 2nd best in the league), it would follow that the team with the best record should be "rewarded" by getting to play the wild card in the LDS. Obviously, the system failed in that regard here, so I think this was the final straw which led to the revision in postseason structure for 1998.

Oh, and the Indians and Orioles advance to the LCS, where the Orioles get HFA due to higher priority.

~~~~~~

Let me know if you have questions or if my reasoning seems faulty.

[WolfSpear]

Wow, thank you very much. Actually, it makes a lot more sense now that you explained it.

One question though, in the '95 NLDS, shouldn't the Reds have faced the Rockies? I'm just basing it HFA priority like the others.

[Nerdlinger]

Wow, thank you very much. Actually, it makes a lot more sense now that you explained it.

One question though, in the '95 NLDS, shouldn't the Reds have faced the Rockies? I'm just basing it HFA priority like the others.

No, as I understand it, a team's seed primarily determines its opponent. The Braves were #1 seed, and since no other restrictions prevented them from playing the WC (i.e., being in the same division and/or being in the lowest priority division), they were able to.

[WolfSpear]

Okay, I see.

So, if the Indians had priority 1 or 2 then they would have had the Yankees.

It's just pretty interesting how the Braves ended up with priority 2 and none of the other top seeds ever did. Thankfully this all changed to something logical in the end.

[Nerdlinger]

Okay, I see.

So, if the Indians had priority 1 or 2 then they would have had the Yankees.

It's just pretty interesting how the Braves ended up with priority 2 and none of the other top seeds ever did. Thankfully this all changed to something logical in the end.

Well, 6 instances is a small sample size. And yes, I'm glad it was simplified after 1997, though the silly restriction on having teams from the same division meeting in the LDS remained. They've gotten rid of that as of this most recent season, at the cost of complicating things again by adding a second wild card.