"The long-talked-about expansion of Major League Baseball's playoffs is in the works and could be incorporated as soon as this coming season, Commissioner Bud Selig announced after the conclusion of Thursday's final quarterly joint Owners Meeting of the year.

The new format will expand the Wild Card to a pair of additional teams, one each in the American and National Leagues.The two Wild Card teams will meet in a one-game playoff prior to the three-tiered postseason, which will remain the same, Selig said.

"You don't do things for only one year. You do things for a long period of time," Selig said. "We believe after a lot of study and a lot of thought that the addition of two Wild Cards is really going to help us in the long run. One thing you learn is that baseball is a metaphor for life and nothing's perfect. But I think people are excited about it. They should be." "