The word "preview" is in quotes because, as you know if you’ve been reading these updates, the Dominican League playoffs have already started. Also, the Australian League playoffs don’t start until January 31. The other leagues start today, though.
Our sports leagues have gotten us so used to the word "playoffs" meaning head-to-head matches in a single-elimination bracket that we sometimes forget that there are other ways it could be done. When MLB added a team in each league to its playoffs last year, it was just assumed it would have to be done in a play-in style to get down to four in each league for the rest of the playoffs. There was no thought that you could have playoffs in any other way.
The Venezuelan and Dominican Leagues, however, use a round-robin format. The Puerto Rican League uses a round-robin plus a head-to-head championship series. The Mexican League use head-to-head series, but allows for one of the losers to continue. I don’t know that these formats are better or worse than the way American sports leagues do it, but they are interesting. I would love to see MLB do playoffs in a round-robin some year, just to see what it would be like, but I know it will never happen.
Also, the Caribbean Leagues seem to allow for the town-ball tradition of "pick-up players", where teams that made the playoffs can add players from teams that did not. I don’t know how many players can be picked up or what the rules are in regard to that. That’s another thing I’d love to see MLB do some year although, again, I know it will never happen.
Anyway, here’s a little bit of information about the playoffs in the Caribbean Leagues:
VENZUELAN LEAGUE
Five teams make the playoffs. They play a sixteen-game round robin, which begins January 2 and ends January 21. The teams involved are Magallanes, Zulia, Anzoategui, Caracas, and Lara. Magallanes finished the regular season first and Lara fifth; the other three teams were tied for second. None of which matters now, of course, as they all go to 0-0 for the playoffs.
MEXICAN LEAGUE
Six teams make the playoffs. They are matched up in best-of-seven head-to-head series, but only two of the losers are eliminated, with the third continuing into the next round. I think the losing team that extends its playoff series the farthest is the one that moves on, but I’m not sure, and if so I don’t know what they do if two (Or all three) series last the same number of games. At any rate, the four teams that remain then are matched up in best-of-seven head-to-head series, and the two that win out of that go to the championship series, which is also best-of-seven. The first round this year is Hermosillo v. Culican, Obregon v. Guasave, and Mazatlan v. Mexicali. Each series starts January 2.
DOMINICAN LEAGUE
Four teams make the playoffs. They play an eighteen-game round robin, which began December 27 and ends January 17. The teams involved are Aguilas, Oriente, Este, and Escogido, which finished in that order.
PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE
Four teams make the playoffs. They play a twelve-game round robin, which begins January 2 and ends January 16. The top two teams then play a best-of-seven series to determine the champion. The teams involved are Caguas, Mayaguez, Satnurce, and Carolina, which finished in that order.
We’ll have something about the Australian League playoffs once we get a little closer to them. Also, it’s possible that I’ve misunderstood how some of this stuff works; if so, I’ll try to update you later. Enjoy the playoffs, everybody!