Is the current CWS system fair?

[BogeyGolfer]

A team can make it to the Nat. Champ Series undefeated and win the first game and be 4-0. If the team they are playing had played through the loser's bracket they would have two losses and the undefeated team would have to beat them again to win the Nat. Champ....One team would be 5-0 and the other would have lost three games...fair or unfair?

[Sandman14]

It's fair. We are interested in who the best team is, balanced with a schedule that is best for the public to enjoy, as well.

The two brackets are divided so that they play like a 4-team regional. Very fair way of determining the best team of those 4. Double elimination.

Then, after you "win your regional," you advance to the championship, which resembles a super regional. This is a great idea because anything can happen in one college baseball game, so the odds dramatically go up that the best team will win if you make a best 2 out of 3.

One could argue that the current format is slightly drawn out for too long a period. I think it's about right, though. The last thing anyone wants is to see a team having to throw some kid who hasn't pitched all season in the title game. We want to see teams pitch their top 6-7 guys only. No one cares how good your no. 8 is, and that should not impact whether you win the national title.

so basically you win a regional, then a super regional, then another regional, then another super regional and you are the champ. I like it.

and also, even though the one team in your example has 3 losses, they still can't beat the undefeated team unless they beat them twice. if you win twice, you deserve it.

[Bert Stare]

A team can make it to the Nat. Champ Series undefeated and win the first game and be 4-0. If the team they are playing had played through the loser's bracket they would have two losses and the undefeated team would have to beat them again to win the Nat. Champ....One team would be 5-0 and the other would have lost three games...fair or unfair?

I think its as fair as we can make it, without just doing a round robin where everybody plays everybody, and we add up the wins/runs/losses. The old system where the championship was a one game event was really unfair from a TEAM national title. It basically went to who had the best ace pitcher every year. NC State would be the favorite by a longshot for the title this year in the old system.

With a best 2 out of 3, the best overall TEAM should win.

[Sandman14]

I think its as fair as we can make it, without just doing a round robin where everybody plays everybody, and we add up the wins/runs/losses. The old system where the championship was a one game event was really unfair from a TEAM national title. It basically went to who had the best ace pitcher every year. NC State would be the favorite by a longshot for the title this year in the old system.

With a best 2 out of 3, the best overall TEAM should win.

actually that would be incorrect about NC State. NC State went to the losers bracket which means they would have to burn their ace before getting to the title game. only if the team with an ace can go undefeated in its games where the ace does not throw would they be in the catbirds seat. Or, of course, NC State could choose to save their ace, but they would stand to lose before ever getting to title game.

[engie]

Fair.

The championship series is a brand new tournament. All the bs that happened before is wiped away. That team has already "come through the loser's bracket" to simply make that final.

Any "advantage" a teams gets by losing a game(which is pretty unfathomable in itself) works itself out in strain on their pitching staff. They'd have to win Friday, Saturday, and then 2 of 3 Mon-Wed. It has only happened once where that team came all the way back to win a title in the current format(Oregon St) -- and I'm betting it will be rare as hell overall...

[Bert Stare]

actually that would be incorrect about NC State. NC State went to the losers bracket which means they would have to burn their ace before getting to the title game. only if the team with an ace can go undefeated in its games where the ace does not throw would they be in the catbirds seat. Or, of course, NC State could choose to save their ace, but they would stand to lose before ever getting to title game.

You are probably right, but I am just remembering the old LSU teams, and it seemed like Ben McDonald pitched every other game. I still think he should sue Bertman for punitive damages. He had pitch counts in the 160's.

[Ghost of Hank Flick]

As far as the championship series, it's all fair because as engie said whatever you did prior is erased and it's best 2 out of 3 as it should be.

What is somewhat unfair is the fact that MSU and UCLA have won their first two games but with every other day off the team that comes from the loser's bracket has fresh pitching. Either Indiana or Oregon State will have a pitcher on full rest for a game Friday and Saturday. I guess you are still at an advantage as the winner's bracket team in that you could advance to the championship series by only using two pitchers, and the loser's bracket team has to use three.

If I could just change the whole thing up I'd like to make it a two and a half week event (each NBA playoff series is two weeks so I don't think it's too long) starting on a Thursday, then play a round robin vs. everyone - 14 days, 7 games for each team. It would end on a Wednesday. Take the teams with the top 2 records and play a 3 game series Saturday-Monday. If there is a tie to be broken have a playoff on Thursday.

[Sandman14]

geez. 7 games for each team? come on now. top 2 records? no way. no offense but that is a horrible idea. then you have teams playing the last 2 or 3 games who are already effectively eliminated and may or may not dog it, which may help a team beat the hell out of them and leap frog a more deserving team.

think about it. these 19 year olds would be drunk as hell the night before their 7th game if they had no chance of making the finals.

[FlabLoser]

The whole thing is driven by TV.

Before it was on TV, the whole tournament was double elimination.

One year, CBS comes along as says OK, we'll put it on TV but we want ONE championship game. So the whole thing was double elimination until the finals and then it was one game for the whole deal.

ESPN comes along and well, they like prolonged post seasons. And now we have best 2 of 3. OK, I don't know if it was ESPN that did it. But definitely modern cable/sat/TV interest in longer post seasons is what did it.

[FlabLoser]

Fair.

The championship series is a brand new tournament. All the bs that happened before is wiped away. That team has already "come through the loser's bracket" to simply make that final.

I agree with this too.

Similar to the MLB playoffs. The next round is a new series. Doesn't matter if you dominated or barely won the previous series.

[Original48]

It's mostly unfair to the fans of the 8 schools. Most people can't be gone for over two weeks to the CWS. It's a lesson in logistics trying to figure out when to go, the first week or the second, when your team wins, what transpires if they lose, will I get to watch at least 2 games if they've lost 1, rolling the dice and waiting til the championship series, having to leave BEFORE the championship series...it's just nuts for the fans. The SEC Tourny had 12 teams and took 5 days to complete. There are only 8 teams in Omaha. But as Flab said, TV is running the show and its all about the money.

[Ghost of Hank Flick]

geez. 7 games for each team? come on now. top 2 records? no way. no offense but that is a horrible idea. then you have teams playing the last 2 or 3 games who are already effectively eliminated and may or may not dog it, which may help a team beat the hell out of them and leap frog a more deserving team.

think about it. these 19 year olds would be drunk as hell the night before their 7th game if they had no chance of making the finals.

It's something that would never happen but I would like it better than 4 team double elimination. But while we're in fantasy land I'd have the MLB Draft moved back to July to give those kids more incentive to play hard. And if the concern is about a team that has already been eliminated, chances are they have lost as many or more than they have won and they were beaten by the teams in contention prior to the final game, so whether they blow it or not - whatever. But I would have the higher seeded teams play each other the first week to increase the chance they would face the lower teams that would more likely not have their heads in it as an advantage for being higher seeded. I mostly just love the College World Series and having an additional week of it during the boring months of summer would be appealing to me.

But what we have now is more fair than it ever has been. The worst was the do or die championship game regardless of if you've lost or not. I did like the old 8-team true double elimination where if we were doing that this year we'd be playing UCLA next for the right to play in the championship, but would still have to play another game before the championship to determine whether or not we have to be beaten once or twice.

[Hump4Hoops]

Fair.

[Coach34]

It's a helluva lot better than it was in 1985