![]() 5 (D)īefore I go on, recall that there are only two ways the teams can finish: everyone at 1-1 (top seed in each pod wins the tiebreak), or 2-0/1-1/0-2 respectively. The numbers are the seeds, and the letters are the pods that each seeds are in. Even if the exact timing of these games are not 100% set in stone, the ACC is going with a 2 v. First here’s the tentative schedule, again shoutout to Les at Scout for compiling this information. However it was not until relatively recently that the conference “released” (thanks to Les from Scout for putting together a solid tentative schedule) the order of the games and quite frankly, I think the schedule, combined with the format, is awful. There was simply no way around this given the number of ways you could have each pod complete three total games in four days. Ultimately, the ACC released the pods a few months ago as follows:īeing the college baseball nerd that I am, I’d given some thought about the best way to have these games scheduled and came to the conclusion that with only four days to play twelve pool play games, the ACC would either have to suffer through the potential that there would again be meaningless pool play games - just like the former variants of the tournament had - or a couple teams would be required to play two games in one day. That’s good and well and, again, pretty straightforward In the latter case, obviously the 2-0 team advances, but in the case of the former, and in apparent deference to the regular season, the top seed in each pod wins the three way tiebreak at 1-1. Statistically, there are two ways a pod can finish record-wise: all three teams can finish at 1-1, or one team respectively finishes 2-0, 1-1, 0-2. Three games are played each day from Tuesday to Friday in pool play and the semis start Saturday. Each team is guaranteed two games and the winner of each pod advances to the semifinals where it becomes single elimination to crown a champion. The 2017 Version of the ACC Tournamentįor the 2017 season, the ACC decided to stick with the pool play option with a twist: instead of just inviting 10 of 14 teams and having the bottom four invited play in to the tournament, they invited 12 of 14 teams and divided the 12 teams into four pods of three. I do agree that it has the potential to put teams through a lot of games, but it allows for a longer week of baseball, increases the sample size of games, and isn’t always as bad as double elimination can be on arms. ![]() Of all these options, I’m of the mind that pool play is the best option. There is single elimination (very exciting for fans, very easy to follow, very high variance for producing the “best” champion). There is double elimination (exciting for fans, easy to follow, but bad for pitchers’ arms). As provided above, there are some creative ways you can attempt to do this. So with these issues in mind, the ACC needs to pick a tournament format to crown their champion that is both exciting and somewhat predictive, while also not hindering the member teams’ ability to compete for a national title. Similarly, if you want to increase the sample size to produce a more “true” champion, you run the risk of tiring out the pitching, again, the week before the NCAA Tournament starts. There is high variance in any one game compared to other sports - in other words teams that are worse have a better chance to beat teams that are better than say, basketball, in only one game (one reason why series are an important part of the sport). Next there are a couple of easily identifiable issues that are more of an inherent structural “problem” to the sport of baseball. The latter was a proffered rationale as to why the conference was looking into alternative formatting solutions. This format was not particularly popular for any number of reasons but mainly: teams who won the play-in games had a minimum of four games to play over a five game stretch the week before the NCAA regionals and pool play inherently has a problem where there are going to be matchups between teams who are already eliminated from advancing to the finals, or matchups where the outcome does not matter because the pool winner has already been determined. The eight remaining teams were then divided into two four-team pools, played a round robin, and then the two pool winners were paired in a winner-take-all game for the title. In 2016, the conference took 10 of the 14 teams, had the 7th through 10th seeds play a play-in game to qualify for pool play. The ACC has 14 member schools that play baseball (Syracuse has no team) and ideally the conference would like to have as many teams as possible attend the neutral-site event. Let me start this article off by saying that I understand that it is difficult to do a conference tournament right in a sport like baseball. Editor’s Note: This is a relatively lengthy and obscure rant that some (okay many) people may not care about, enjoy with caution! Introduction ![]()
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