The Diamond Cup: My Vision for MLB's Version of the FA Cup

So what if Major League Baseball decided to create a tournament similar to what we see in European soccer?

Can you imagine the possibilities? Can you imagine how much fun it could be seeing these smaller teams having their shot at taking on the top-tier professionals even if its just for a couple games a year? Can you imagine seeing some of these epic historic rivalries playing out in a winner-take-all tourney before the playoffs even begin? Hear me out, because I think this setup could improve baseball, expand baseball, and even potentially punish those select franchises who constantly coast on the revenue sharing without trying to compete every season (looking at you Marlins).

Under the new Minor League Baseball setup, we now have a more fixed and organized number of teams operating across the United States in Canada. I’m not a fan of some of these changes and subtractions, but that conversation is for another day. But now, we have essentially all professional baseball leagues under the watchful eye of Major League Baseball and just about an even distribution of minor league teams under the umbrellas of the professional teams representing them.

But what if we had a scenario in which we got them all to participate in a tournament that not only allows more areas of the country to experience MLB, but also with added incentives that could see a small delegation/promotion threat to teams that are constantly tanking?

Here is my barebones proposal for the U.S. Baseball Cup hosted by MLB:

Numbers of Teams Participating: 224

Number of Divisions: 14, with 16 Teams in Each Division

Selection Process: Randomized and Televised Lottery System with at least two MLB teams in each division. Divisions are unveiled during MLB Playoffs on previous year.

Number of Games in the Opening Round: 15, Every Team in Division Plays Each Other Once

When are Games Played: Opening Round, from April through July every Wednesday/Thursday (Depending on Schedule/Weather); Tournament runs from August to Early September with games every Saturday/Sunday (Depending on Schedule/Weather)  

Do the Games Count Towards Regular Season?: No, also in a perfect world the tourney would happen after regular season is cut by 15-30 games to give the scheduling some space.  

How Many Teams Advance to the Tournament Bracket: 30 (14 Division Winners, 16 Wild Cards, 2 Best Teams get First Round Bye)

Tournament Setup: Winner-Take-All every round. Semifinals and Championship Game happens on Labor Day Weekend

Venue: Semifinals and Championship Game @ City hosting the All-Star Game that year.   

Here is the fun part, the incentives. There is a million dollar prize for every player and coach on the winning team, with the runner-up team earning $250,000. Who is going to be mad at that? Especially the bench players or those still on rookie deals. Now, the additional prize will depend on who actually wins.

1) If a non-playoff bound Major League Baseball team wins the tourney, then they land a playoff spot, regardless of regular season record. So if the 75-87 Pittsburgh Pirates go on a torrid run and wins the U.S. Baseball Cup, then at the end of the season they get to earn a wild card berth.

2) If the winner of the tourney happens to also win a division in the end, then they get to skip the Wild Card round guaranteed.

3) Lastly for the MLB teams, if by chance one of the really good teams also wins the tournament, say a 105-win Dodger team, then they get home field advantage throughout the entire playoffs, with even an extra home game if say they make it to the World Series (Home games in Games 1,2,5,6,7).

4) Let’s spice things up a bit. If any of the lesser-tier teams wins the tournament, somehow surpassing the 30 professional MLB teams to become the last team standing, then they’ll get the wildest gift of all: an entire season being promoted to the Major Leagues while the MLB team with the worst record gets dropped to cover the missing slot. As a reminder, this shouldn’t happen, so if the MLB players don’t take the tourney seriously, then they very well can see themselves playing AA baseball while they see the Arkansas Travelers from the Texas League take over their spot, and even accepting the revenue sharing portion that would have belonged to the pro team getting demoted.

The last part will likely be the biggest sticking point among owners and players while organizing this setup, but the chances of such an occasion would be extremely, extremely rare. You’d have to somehow take one of the 30 slots from a field of 224 and march through the tournament likely having to defeat MLB team after MLB team. David defeating a slew of Goliaths is a tall tall task, but even then I don’t see certain owners wanting to even flirt with the risk.

But look at the FA Cup, where since 1973 there have been only 3 winners from a lower-tier division, with the latest occasion happening in 1980. At the end of the day this will be an extra set of games for the MLB teams to play each other for a second pathway towards the playoffs, but at least every professional squad in America (and Canada) will have their proper shot. More importantly, this is a chance for professional baseball to be presented in far off regions all over the country, with say the New York Yankees being in same division as the Timber Rattlers, and traveling over to Appleton, Wisconsin to play a game.

Conclusion: This is my version of what an FA Cup-style baseball tournament would look like. It would take place in the middle of the baseball seasons of almost all these leagues in the middle of the week, once a week until early September. This is a great chance to spread the game, offer an additional path for an MLB team to make the postseason, and of course if we’re talking business offer a great chunk of baseball content for whichever channel or streaming service would want it. Imagine offering this on YouTube streaming or Twitch, or maybe even Instagram for new audiences to enjoy.

This doesn’t link to the regular season until the results are unveiled and prizes are handed out, so therefore it wouldn’t even affect the current TV contracts. I think it’s a win-win for everyone involved, especially these smaller towns affected by the minor league baseball changes and infamous MLB blackouts. I know this is a grandiose pipe dream, but its one I personally would love to see implemented if I had any say whatsoever in baseball’s future.