Flip Flop Fly Ball: Is playoff success affected by when a team clinches?
From Craig Robinson at Getting Blanked on September 27, 2012:
Is playoff success affected by when a team clinches? (Spoiler alert: Not really.)
I’ve been interested in this for a while, if clinching a playoff spot early and thus being able to give players some rest, sort out your rotation, etc., has a good effect on a team’s success, or if playing meaningful games in the last few days of the season creates some momentum. So I looked at every playoff team since 1995, when the wild card was introduced, to see if there are any patterns. There aren’t, really.
Read the full article here: http://blogs.thescore.com/mlb/2012/09/27/flip-flop-fly-ball-is-playoff-success-affected-by-when-a-team-clinches/
Originally published: September 27, 2012. Last Updated: September 27, 2012.