Major League Baseball’s office of the commissioner has formally proposed reducing the regular season from 162 games to 154 and overhauling the postseason structure starting in the 2029 season, according to league documents outlined in international reports. The proposal, presented to the Major League Baseball Players Association during ongoing collective bargaining negotiations, marks a time league management has officially initiated a schedule reduction to address player complaints regarding the length of the 162-game slate.
Proposal Contracts Regular Season to 154 Games
Under the new proposal, the regular season schedule would contract by eight games, returning to the 154-game format utilized historically between 1904 and 1960. The Office of the Commissioner intends to use the compressed schedule to build greater flexibility into travel logistics and player recovery. League officials plan to designate Mondays as regular off-days across the sport, while occasionally slotting one or two games on Mondays exclusively for national television broadcasts.
Teams playing on a Monday would receive a guaranteed day off on the following Thursday under the proposed guidelines, though the rule would not apply to national holidays or special event games. League research indicates that introducing Monday rest days mirrors positive results seen in American minor league baseball, ensuring players receive two consecutive recovery days following Sunday day games. League data compiled between 2022 and 2025 shows that scheduling structured rest days cuts player travel volume by 24 percent compared to standard itineraries.
Base Salaries Remain Protected Despite Fewer Games
Player opposition to schedule reduction has centered on potential salary decreases tied to games played. To resolve this hurdle, league executives stipulated that base player salaries will not be reduced under the 154-game proposal. While baseline compensation remains protected, the office of the commissioner noted that adjustments would be made to the benchmarks governing performance bonuses and contract option clauses to account for the eight fewer games.
The league targeted the 2029 season for implementation because it coincides with the start of new national media broadcast rights agreements.
Top Seeds Choose Opponents in Postseason Rounds
Alongside the regular season contraction, the proposal introduces changes to the postseason qualification and tournament tree, adding up to eight total games to the playoff calendar. The modification involves giving top-seeded clubs control over selecting their opponents in the opening rounds of the postseason.
In the Wild Card series, the No. 3 seed in each league would directly choose its opponent from the available pool of the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds, replacing the current automatic matchup structure. Similarly, the No. 1 seed in each league would be permitted to select its preferred opponent from the surviving teams following the Wild Card round before the start of the Division Series. The league also proposed expanding the Division Series and subsequent championship rounds to a best-of-seven series.
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