Let’s give credit where credit is due: Major League Baseball is example of playoffs done well. The National Basketball Association is an example of playoffs done poorly.

Because MLB limits the number of teams making the playoffs to so few, it increases the importance of many games late in the season. It’s like backing the playoff atmosphere into the late season for some teams.

We like that. Fans of the Minnesota Twins can attest. They saw that playoff-like atmosphere in the games near the end of the regular season, especially the games against the Chicago White Sox and the Kansas City Royals.

The NBA awards so many teams a shot at the playoffs that there is less interest in regular-season games. In fact, when there is some we’ve-gotta-make-the-playoffs drama, it usually is among teams with losing or mediocre records. They get bounced out of the playoffs anyway. Most NBA fans we know pay light attention to the games during the bulk of the season. It isn’t until college basketball is over that some start paying closer attention. For others, they start watching when the incredibly long NBA playoffs get going.

The National Football League is somewhere in between. It has a nice balance of teams. We fear that in the hunt for money the NFL might add playoff games, which would be too bad because it could weaken a good postseason with teams that have losing records. Increasing teams making the playoffs also decreases the importance of winning each and every game of the regular season.

Playoffs should be hard to reach. Any true fan knows that.