Mark Madden: MLB playoffs are must-see TV, but why the wait for the World Series?

I rarely watch the Pirates. Too depressing. Worse than “Dear Evan Hansen” even.

But when playoff baseball starts, I watch.

I miss the single-elimination wild-card games. They provided Game 7 excitement on the postseason’s first night.

But nobody is ever happy about the format of the MLB playoffs.

When three division champs and a wild card made the playoffs in each league, that was bad because finishing first in your division offered no big edge over getting a wild card besides home-field advantage in the Division Series for two of the three division winners. (I just used the word “division” four times in a sentence, a personal high.)

Then each league added a wild card, but the single-elimination wild-card game was thought to be too brief, almost random.

That’s certainly what Pirates fans thought in 2016 and ’17.

Now each league has three wild cards. The two division winners with the best records get a bye to the Division Series. The wild-card round is best-of-three.

Teams getting a bye might get stale. That’s the excuse for Atlanta and the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, anyway.

Baseball, like other sports, has too many layers of playoffs. That helps lesser teams and impedes better teams.

Until 1969, MLB had two leagues, no divisions and the league winners met in the World Series. It minimized potential for flukes. It was sports’ most credible championship.

But this way makes a lot more money.

It’s also how Philadelphia gets to the World Series after finishing third in the NL East and winning just 87 games.

So I got in the habit of watching the baseball playoffs.

Then they took a four-day break between the league championship series and the World Series. The former ended Sunday, the latter starts Friday.

Why such a lengthy pause? It’s nearly November. How long before it snows in Philadelphia?

I bet the networks are trying to figure out a way to give the Dodgers and New York Yankees a reprieve. Or get Shohei Ohtani on one of the teams. (Or Oneil Cruz. Beat ’em, Bucs!)

It’s not the sexiest World Series: It’s the cheaters vs. Bryce Harper.

So get it over with as quickly as possible.

Play doubleheaders. Play seven-inning games. Start every inning with a runner on second base. Use the pitch clock.

I’m picking Houston in four. But I’d settle for anybody in four.

That four-day break killed my interest.

Give Harper credit.

He comes across as kind of a jerk. So he’s a perfect fit for Philadelphia.

Harper left Washington via free agency after the 2018 season and looked dumb when the Nationals immediately won the World Series in ’19.

But Harper has been a monster in this postseason: His five home runs, 11 RBIs and 10 runs are all tops in the playoffs. His 1.351 OPS and .419 average are both second-best.

The Astros, meanwhile, cheated to win the World Series in 2017. Some think it’s admirable that the Astros have put the sign-stealing scandal behind them to again reach the World Series. I just assume they’re still cheating.