The Red Sox received home field in 2004, 20 under the previous rule. There was a proposal at one point of adding a permanent 26th roster spot in exchange for some type of limit to rosters in September, but the Players Association was against it because of potential major league service time lost for call-ups, and the two sides couldn't agree.Īn MLB source on Thursday said both sides recognize the need for change, and believe the subject will be revisited during the course of this new, five-year CBA, but the system will stay in place at least for 2017. Home field advantage will be decided by which team has the best overall record. Because managers now match up with lefties and righties out of the bullpen more than ever, at times they used extra relievers this past September to turn games into unwatchable marathons. Most glaringly, nothing was done to address expanded rosters in September, which has become a major albatross on games. Of course, Manfred didn't get everything he wanted in this new agreement, especially regarding improved pace of play, which he has made clear he feels is vital to keeping young fans interested in baseball. The league that wins baseball's All-Star Game no longer will get home-field advantage in the World Series, which instead will go to the pennant winner with the better regular-season record.