Listen, Manfred wants something to drive in attention this year since the Dodgers Yankees WS didn't give him the buzz he hoped for(since the stankees sucked and Ohtani went 0-20 or whatever), so this year he's trying to find ways to generate buzz in a bigger way. The next two years will be sudden rises by teams that have never won a World Series or have had excessive droughts. This year we'll have Padres and Mariners so it's guaranteed we get a first ever win for a franchise, next year it's Angels vs Mets so we can get ONE Mike Trout WS before his injuries take him for good.