John Smoltz reiterated his idea of a split season.

Good for him.  John Smoltz was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.  But today on the Brian Kenny MLB Now program Smoltz again brought up his idea that "poor" teams like Tampa would be better served if the regular season were cut in half.  I had recommended that also a few years ago.  Smoltz has suggested the only radical idea among baseball establishment types in recent decades.

In 1981 this was actually done because much of that season was lost to a dispute between the owners and players.  An impromptu split season was created, which worked pretty well.

One major advantage of a split season in which a team could qualify or earn significant credit towards qualifying for the tournament in the first half is that it would restore some integrity to the last third of the season, the months of August and September.  The current system allows trades to be made until July 31.  After that a player must clear waivers in order to change teams.  So some teams decide to bail out in late July and trade significant players.  It's a disgrace.  Trades should not be allowed during the season.  With a split season trades could be banned more easily.