MLB’s expanded postseason field has been whittled from 16 teams to eight with a rush of games in the best-of-three wild-card series. Some results were expected (the Dodgers romped over the Brewers) while others came with surprises (the Marlins ousting the Cubs) that flowed from the condensed format.
What comes next is a return to the general playoff structure baseball fans are used to — minus home stadiums and off days as the teams move to neutral sites.
Before the Division Series begins, we stepped back and took stock of what lessons we might have learned from a whirlwind week of high-stakes baseball.