Opinion: Home field advantage is simply overrated

Major League Baseball (Wikimedia Commons)

We are currently in the core of the 2025 League Championship Series with one team currently one win away from reaching the World Series, and the other two teams currently in a dog fight to see who will represent the American League. One thing is for certain, and it is something you basically cannot spin. Home field advantage is simply overrated at this time of year.

In the seven postseason games to date in the two League Championship series, the road team has won six of the games. In the ALCS, the Seattle Mariners won two games in Toronto by a combined score of 13-4. The Blue Jays bounced back with two wins in Seattle by a combined score of 21-6. In the NLCS, the Dodgers won two games in Milwaukee by scores of 2-1 and 5-1 before ending the trend on Thursday with a 3-1 home win over the Brewers at Dodger Stadium to take a 3-0 series lead.

In recent years, the road team has also dominated two series that come to mind. In the 2019 World Series, the road team actually won all seven games. Six years ago, the Washington Nationals won four games in Houston, and the Houston Astros won three games in Washington. And the visiting team was dominant as they outscored the home team 49-14. It was the first time among all the North American sports leagues that the visiting team won all seven games in a final series.

Then at the 2023 American League Championship Series, the road team won all seven games again. The Texas Rangers won all four games in Houston and the Houston Astros won the three games in Texas. The Rangers went on to win their first World Series as they beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games.