What Does Tanking Mean in Baseball? MLB Rebuild Strategy Explained
Tanking in sports refers to the practice of intentionally fielding non-competitive teams to take advantage of league rules that benefit losing teams....
In the world of baseball, the term "tanking" has evolved from a niche accusation into a mainstream strategic discussion. At its core, tanking refers to the deliberate effort by a team to lose games during the current season with the primary goal of securing a higher draft pick in the subsequent amateur draft. This strategy is a high-stakes gamble, trading short-term disappointment for the potential of long-term glory by acquiring top-tier talent before competitors can.
The Motivation Behind Tanking
Understanding why a team tanks requires looking at the competitive landscape of Major League Baseball. In a league with a robust draft system, the best amateur prospects are often the most cost-effective way to build a championship roster. When a franchise finds itself stuck in a competitive division with a low ceiling, or lacks the financial flexibility to pursue free agents, the incentive to tank increases significantly.
Strategic Rebuilding vs. Simply Losing
It is crucial to distinguish between genuine tanking and a team simply experiencing a rough patch due to injuries or slumps. True tanking involves active decision-making, such as resting healthy star players, trading future assets for low-risk veterans, or giving significant playing time to unproven rookies. The objective shifts from winning the current series to winning the future lottery, a mindset that often leads to controversial choices.
The Mechanics of the Draft Lottery
The effectiveness of tanking is rooted in the structure of the MLB Draft Lottery. Introduced to curb "tanking," the system still rewards the worst teams by giving them the best odds at the first overall pick. Teams that finish with the worst records receive weighted entries, meaning a team finishing last statistically has a much higher chance of landing the top prospect than the team that finished 10th.
| Finish In Standings | Relative Chance of #1 Pick |
|---|---|
| Worst Record | Highest Probability (e.g., 25%) |
| Near Worst Record | High Probability (e.g., 15-20%) |
| Playoff Contender | Near Zero Probability |
Public and League Perception
Tanking creates a unique dynamic between a franchise and its fanbase. While management views the strategy as a necessary path to revival, fans often feel alienated seeing intentional losses week after week. The 2023 season saw the Cleveland Guardians and Baltimore Orioles engage in a highly publicized battle to secure the top draft pick, a spectacle that highlighted the divisive nature of the strategy.
The Risk of Alienating Fans
The primary risk of tanking is the erosion of fan trust. Baseball has a rich history of underdog stories and dramatic pennant races; tanking runs counter to that narrative. If a team becomes too synonymous with losing, it can damage ticket sales and local revenue, making the short-term sacrifice of draft capital a long-term financial burden.
High-Profile Examples
History provides clear examples of successful and unsuccessful tanking. The rebuild of the Chicago Cubs involved strategic player development rather than blatant tanking, leading to a World Series win. Conversely, the late 2000s iterations of the Baltimore Orioles and the Houston Astros in the mid-2010s utilized aggressive tanking to accumulate a wave of talent that eventually returned them to contention.
The Changing Landscape
Recently, the MLB collective bargaining agreement has introduced measures to discourage extreme tanking. The "Pool A" draft, which features the worst-performing teams, now includes a competitive balance round and restrictions on trading picks. These changes suggest that while the desire to secure top talent remains, the league is actively working to balance the scales between competing for today’s championships and investing in tomorrow’s.
<strong>Tanking - Wikipedia</strong><p>Tanking in sports refers to the practice of intentionally fielding non-competitive teams to take advantage of league rules that benefit losing teams.</p>
<strong>[Joe Sheehan] We should retire the term “tanking” in baseball. It was ...</strong><p>25.02.2022 ... We saw the Cubs do that not too long ago as well. What Joe Sheehan is saying is just speculation and an opinion. It doesn't mean it's a ...</p>
<strong>Tanking Baseball Dictionary</strong><p>Definition. 1. Intentionally performing poorly or actually losing games or performing poorly in order to obtain a higher draft position in the upcoming draft in ...</p>
<strong>'Tanking' in MLB is not an easy problem to solve | Bleed Cubbie Blue</strong><p>12.03.2018 ... Sheinin also provides a good definition of tanking when he writes that it is “the systematic writing-off of entire seasons by franchises hoping ...</p>
<strong>Is 'Tanking' in Baseball Worth It? | Community Blog - FanGraphs</strong><p>30.01.2018 ... Tanking in baseball is only secondary about the draft but mostly about trading mlb players for prospects. The draft picks help too but the ...</p>
<strong>Tanking - BR Bullpen - Baseball-Reference.com</strong><p>02.12.2021 ... Tanking refers to the practice of a team deliberately fielding a lesser line-up for an entire season in order to extract a better position ...</p>
<strong>MLB Column: What exactly is “tanking?” - The Daily Campus</strong><p>07.02.2018 ... They're referring to this phenomenon as “tanking.” It's when a team with an average level of talent decides to reduce payroll and save up draft ...</p>
<strong>How to end tanking and fix baseball | Covering the Corner</strong><p>17.03.2020 ... This is when an organization is happy to field an noncompetitive team in order to stockpile higher draft picks. When combined with good talent ...</p>
<strong>Sniffing out the difference between rebuilding and tanking among ...</strong><p>09.06.2016 ... "Tanking" here means losing by design with the purpose of gaining higher draft picks in order to help turn a team around quickly. The problem ...</p>
<strong>Tanking: It's often actually a useful MLB team-building strategy</strong><p>01.12.2021 ... One potential definition is as follows: A team is tanking if its Opening Day payroll is at least 1.4 standard deviations below the major league ...</p>
<strong>2023 MLB Draft: Tanking in baseball is over — but not because the ...</strong><p>09.07.2023 ... “Tanking” has become something like a catch-all term for not trying very hard to win. But not every bad team is tanking; some are just totally ...</p>
<strong>The new CBA was supposed to help fix tanking in MLB - ESPN</strong><p>12.04.2022 ... FOR MONTHS DURING the lockout, Major League Baseball players had a consistent gripe about the system they were attempting to change -- a gripe ...</p>
<strong>Baseball Therapy: One Simple Anti-Tanking Solution</strong><p>23.01.2018 ... “Tank” is the new four-letter word in baseball. Sure, people say it, but they should feel a little bit ashamed of themselves for doing so.</p>
<strong>What is the problem with teams tanking for draft picks in Major ...</strong><p>09.11.2022 ... It's very different in professional baseball. Players selected high in the draft have all done very well in high school or college ball, but ...</p>
<strong>The Law of Tanking, Part One | FanGraphs Baseball</strong><p>24.09.2018 ... Trade anyone of value on your major league roster for prospects. · Save as much money as possible by using as many players that you can that are ...</p>
<strong>The San Diego Padres Found a Way to Monetize Bad Baseball</strong><p>30.08.2018 ... Tanking is, in essence, losing now in order to win later. It's not to be confused with players throwing games, à la the infamous 1919 World ...</p>
<strong>How tanking is "destroying" Major League Baseball - YouTube</strong><p>25.01.2018 ... Scott Boras sees a concerning trend in MLB with teams slashing payroll & fielding non-competitive teams. How can it be fixed?</p>
<strong>Why Should MLB Teams Tank Anymore? - Baseball America</strong><p>06.12.2023 ... While this development is unlikely to compel A's owner John Fisher to spend money to make next year's team better, it does mean that being awful ...</p>
<strong>Tanking in Baseball - Wolf's Howl</strong><p>Tanking is to purposely lose to earn draft picks for the future, and to better build your team down the road, in exchange for being terrible in the present, and ...</p>
<strong>TANKERS, WANKERS AND BANKERS: BASEBALL STILL IN A ...</strong><p>23.03.2022 ... “This is about the integrity of the game from our eyes. We feel as players that too many teams go into a season without any intent to win,'' he ...</p>
