"On Saturday night, the Tigers took a 1-0 lead in their playoff series over the Mariners by securing an extra-inning victory. Both teams went 1-2-3 in the tenth, but in the 11th, a leadoff walk, a wild pitch, and a super-weak hopper off the bat of personal favorite Zach McKinstry brought home the eventual winning run. Nowhere to be seen: a free runner placed at second base at the start of any half-inning."
"So, I guess, I have this nagging question: why does MLB not use the free runner in the postseason? Is it because the postseason is meant to be "purer" or "fairer" or some other adjective that precludes the free runner? Is it just because everyone wants regular season games to be over as quickly as possible, but that doesn't apply to the playoffs? If so, why not just have ties or whatever?"
"It's not like there's no standard or precedent, either: there are penalty kicks in soccer sometimes but not in every game, just to name one. But this one just feels weird. "The free runner structure isn't good enough to determine who advances in a tournament, but we'll use it every time to help determine who goes into the tournament." Just feels off to me, like the incongruity was purposefully inserted to make my head hurt rather than anything else."
A playoff extra-inning victory featured a game-winning run driven in by Zach McKinstry after a leadoff walk and a wild pitch, without an automatic runner starting at second. The automatic extra-innings runner used during the regular season was not applied in the postseason. Questions arise about why the rule shortens regular-season games yet is withheld when advancement is at stake. Possible rationales include preserving a purer or fairer competitive format in playoffs or accepting longer games in postseason. The contrast with sporadic tie-breaking methods in other sports intensifies a sense of inconsistency and oddity.
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