What if MLB adopted EPL-style relegation?

In the summer of 2020 – a surreal and, frankly, forgettable year marked by a global pandemic, our President’s seeming daily mockery of science (including the unforgettable question to Dr. Deborah Birx about whether we ought to try injecting disinfectant to treat COVID-19), and the tragic, untimely deaths of two of my heroes, Laker legend Kobe Bryant and Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart – my lifelong friend Chris and I, both devoted baseball fanatics, found ourselves drawn to a new obsession: English Football.

With the start of the MLB season delayed until July 23, and the eventual World Series between the Dodgers and Rays played in front of cardboard cutout fans and artificial crowd noise at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, we looked elsewhere to fill the void (although the Dodgers’ win was spectacular). The highest level of English football, the English Premier League, aka the EPL, became a welcome distraction, something fresh and alive, during a time when so much of the world felt uncertain.

(Side note: the World Series in pandemic year 1 was hosted at Globe Life Field. I am only just realizing this now, five years later. Conspiracy theorists must have been flipping out.)

In more than 30 years of friendship, Chris and I have never rooted for the same team in any sport. In fact, like brothers from another mother, we often find ourselves cheering for each other’s rivals. Chris is a lifelong Braves fan, which makes our Braves-Dodgers matchups a natural battleground. He once tried rooting for the Padres, but I don’t think he could stomach it – and he knows better than to cross the line to the Giants. Some boundaries are sacred if you want to stay friends. Ask him his favorite college football team, and he’ll tell you: it’s whoever’s playing USC that week.

At the start of our EPL journey, Chris and I set out to do something we’d never done before: pick a team we could both support. One afternoon over Zoom, we pulled up the Premier League table – essentially the EPL standings – and chose our club at random. We deliberately aimed for the middle of the pack, steering clear of the top three (too easy) and avoiding the bottom dwellers for fear of relegation. For the uninitiated, relegation means getting kicked out of the top-tier Premier League and sent down to the Championship League – English football’s version of AAA – for finishing in the bottom three. It’s one of the most thrilling aspects of the EPL and one of the most nerve-wracking for fans of borderline teams.

Unfortunately for us, the strategy worked a little too well. We landed on Wolverhampton Wanderers FC – a team so steeped in mediocrity that their actual name, the Wanderers, feels like an apt description of their annual fate (though most people just call them “Wolves”). In the five years we’ve been supporters, the Wolves have mastered the art of staying squarely in the middle: never quite good enough to threaten the league’s top contenders, but never bad enough to get relegated. They don’t suck – but they’re not good either. To their credit, Wolves fans are known as some of the most passionate in the Premier League, even though the club has never won the EPL (they did win the Championship League in 2017–18, which earned them promotion to the top tier). 

It’s been a fun ride getting to know the world‘s favorite sport. The athleticism, the drama, the spectacle – it’s all there. From August to May, the energy for EPL rivals what American sports have to offer. England – roughly the size of Alabama but with ten times the population – is home to all 20 Premier League clubs along with dozens more across the lower leagues. In London alone, a city roughly the size of Los Angeles, there are seven Premier League teams. Rivalries are fierce and stakes are high for passionate fans.

Imagine if MLB teams played home games in Long Beach, Carson, Marina del Rey, Pasadena, Northridge, Whittier, and El Monte. How cool would that be?

Of all the elements that make the EPL exciting, relegation might be the most intriguing. Teams are ranked from #1 to #20 based on their performance throughout the season. At the end of the year, the bottom three teams are relegated – demoted to the lower-tier Championship League. In the event of a tie on points, rankings are determined first by goal difference, then by goals scored. If teams are still tied (a rare scenario), a playoff match may be used to decide who stays and who goes. (Note: Unlike some other leagues, the Premier League does not use head-to-head results as a tiebreaker.)

To fill the vacancies, the top two teams from the Championship are automatically promoted, and the third spot is decided through a playoff among the next four highest-ranked teams. This constant movement means every season brings fresh blood to the Premier League – and under-performers get bounced down to the “minors,” keeping things competitive…and unforgiving.

The repercussions of relegation are staggering. A demoted EPL team can lose £50–100 million in annual television revenue alone. Star players often depart for top clubs in other European leagues, and fan morale takes a serious hit. On the flip side, promotion is one of the most lucrative and transformative events in sports. Newly promoted clubs gain access to Premier League TV money, commercial opportunities, increased ticket demand, stronger recruiting power for star players, and a heightened profile with fans and media – the list goes on. The system creates constant pressure: win to avoid relegation, or win to achieve promotion. Or, if you’re my beloved Wanderers, just stay mediocre enough to keep your seat at the EPL table.

What if MLB adopted relegation? 

Imagine the Braves and Rockies, not battling for a playoff spot in September, but fighting to remain in the major leagues. A late-season White Sox road trip to Boston or New York suddenly carries more weight in Chicago. And consider the AAA teams jockeying for promotion – the Toledo Mud Hens could become the unexpected darlings of the baseball world.

Of course, there are financial realities that keep Durham Bull dreams from becoming major league policy. MLB television contracts are negotiated locally and regionally, unlike the Premier League’s centralized national deal, which makes revenue sharing among clubs more feasible. Major league salaries are astronomical compared to those of minor leaguers – though in theory, that disparity could serve as a powerful motivator to avoid relegation. It would require a complete overhaul of the minor league system. The EPL does offer a safety net for demoted teams, with a portion of shared revenue continuing to support them post-relegation. MLB could implement a similar model.

EPL standings are based on a point system: 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss. Major League Baseball doesn’t have ties (or crying!) so I created a similar system, awarding 3 points for each win and subtracting 1 point for each loss.

For example, the Detroit Tigers, currently with 59 wins (59 × 3 = 177 points) and 38 losses, earn a total of 139 points (177 – 38 = 139). In the EPL, the bottom three teams, roughly 15% of the league, are relegated at season’s end. Applying the same percentage to MLB’s 30 teams (and rounding up), five clubs would be sent down.

As the 2025 season resumes following the All-Star break, here’s how my MLB table stacks up:

Team	Wins	Losses	Points
Detroit Tigers	59	38	139
Los Angeles Dodgers	58	39	135
Chicago Cubs	57	39	132
Milwaukee Brewers	56	40	128
Houston Astros	56	40	128
Toronto Blue Jays	55	41	124
Philadelphia Phillies	55	41	124
New York Mets	55	42	123
New York Yankees	53	43	116
Boston Red Sox	53	45	114
San Diego Padres	52	44	112
San Francisco Giants	52	45	111
Seattle Mariners	51	45	108
St. Louis Cardinals	51	46	107
Cincinnati Reds	50	47	103
Tampa Bay Rays	50	47	103
Texas Rangers	48	49	95
Minnesota Twins	47	49	92
Los Angeles Angels	47	49	92
Kansas City Royals	47	50	91
Arizona Diamondbacks	47	50	91
Cleveland Guardians	46	49	89
Miami Marlins	44	51	81
Baltimore Orioles	43	52	77
Atlanta Braves	42	53	73
R – Oakland Athletics	41	57	66
R – Pittsburgh Pirates	39	58	59
R- Washington Nationals	38	58	56
R- Chicago White Sox	32	65	31
R- Colorado Rockies	22	74	-8

The Athletics (oh, the poor, long-suffering A’s fans), Pirates (PNC Park is beautiful – their lineup, less so), Nationals (their ownership earned this), White Sox (a big-market team with a tiny budget), and Rockies (remember that Dante Bichette/Larry Walker commercial with the floating ball?) all face relegation.

Meanwhile, the Tacoma Rainiers, El Paso Chihuahuas, Sacramento River Cats, Nashville Sounds, and Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (best baseball name ever??) are among the AAA clubs vying for a historic and profitable promotion to the majors.

Could this actually happen? No.

Would I want to see it? I’m torn. But one thing’s for sure: it would make September baseball a lot more interesting.