MLB, not NFL, king of competitive balance 

January, 4, 2011
01/04/11
12:46
PM ET
If you know me, you had to know this blog attack was coming.

All it took was one barrage from the NFL parity-propaganda machine, and I had no choice.

So the NFL has had at least five new teams make the playoffs in 14 straight years, huh?

Well, that's a wonderful thing. And we're all so darned proud of them. But I'm now required by my DNA to report:

This does not prove they're the kings of competitive balance.

If you have a sneaky feeling I'm about to compare the NFL to Major League Baseball on that front, hey, you know me too well.

That's exactly where this is heading.

Let's start by reminding you that 50 percent more teams make the playoffs in football than make it in baseball (12, versus eight). So this deck is already stacked.

And one more thing: It's amazing how competitively balanced you can make yourself look if you start letting sub-.500 teams into your playoff party.

OK, now that we've got that out of the way, a few facts you should know:


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Jayson Stark | email

Senior Writer, ESPN.com
  • Senior writer for ESPN.com
  • 21 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer
  • Author of two baseball books
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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Jayson Stark
Jayson Stark

Jayson Stark has been a senior baseball writer for ESPN.com since 2000. His regular contributions include the newsy Rumblings and Grumblings column, his eclectic "Three Strikes" blog and his tilted look inside baseball's numbers and quirks, the Useless Information Department.

Stark also makes regular television appearances on "SportsCenter," "Outside the Lines" and "Baseball Tonight." He is a regular ESPN Radio guest of Mike & Mike, the Doug Gottlieb Show, the John Kinkade Show, ESPN Radio tonight and numerous other shows on the network.

Before arriving at ESPN, Stark worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer for 21 years. He was twice named Pennsylvania's sportswriter of the year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. In 2010, he was honored by the Foster Conference for Distinguished Writers for his books and other work. He is the author of two books, "The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History" (Triumph Books, 2006) and "Worth The Wait: Tales of the 2008 Phillies" (Triumph Books, 2009).

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