The new, 12-team playoff format The Wild Card Game has been replaced by the best-of-three Wild Card Series, which functions as the first round of play. The higher seed in each Wild Card Series will host all the games of that series, be it two or the maximum three games.
The top two seeds of the American and National leagues will receive first-round byes into the Division Series (DS) and the other two division winners will be the third seed in their respective league. The three Wild Card teams will be the fourth, fifth and sixth seeds.
The four wild-card round participants in each league comprise the division winner with the worst record among division winners and the three non-division winners with the best records. That division winner is automatically the No. 3 seed regardless of whether one or all of the other wild-card teams has a better record.
The winners of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and the National League Championship Series (NLCS) play each other in the best-of-seven World Series. The current system allows for up to 54 postseason games and at least 32 games.
The new format will do away with the single wild-card game, and instead pit the third-best division winner against the last team in while the best and second-best wild-card winners play each other. These games will all be played in a three-game series’ hosted by the team with the better record.
The top two division winners in each league will receive byes to the Division Series. The other four teams in each league will play best-of-three series in the Wild Card round, with the higher seed hosting all three games.
The teams are seeded as follows:
Number one overall seed is awarded to the division winner with the best overall record. The second and third seeds are given to the remaining division winners in the order of win-loss record. Each wild card slot is awarded to the best overall record of the remaining teams in the league.
The top two wild card teams in each league will play each other in a best-of-three series. In each series, all three games will take place at the same ballpark. The high seed will be home for all three games. All four Wild Card Series will take place on three consecutive days between October 7 and October 9.
The wild cards in each league are the three teams with the best winning percentages among non-division winning teams. These wild card teams are assigned seeds No. 4 through No. 6, per their relative winning percentages.
The Wild Card game is a playoff game between two teams that didn’t win their respective league. In the NFL, all teams playing Wild Card games can participate in the Super Bowl.
No. The League Championship Series and World Series rounds remain best-of-seven in a 2-3-2 format, with regard to home-field advantage. What if two (or more) teams vying for a division title or postseason spot have identical records at the end of the regular season?
The LCS is a best-of-seven format, so the first team to win four games progresses. The winners of the ALCS and NLCS – the American League champions and National League champions – then advance to the World Series.
The four wild-card round participants in each league comprise the division winner with the worst record among division winners and the three non-division winners with the best records. That division winner is automatically the No. 3 seed regardless of whether one or all of the other wild-card teams has a better record.
Beginning with the 2012 playoffs, the MLB added a single elimination wild card game to both the American League and National League. This is not a series, as is the case with the remainder of the playoff matches, but instead one elimination game where the winner moves on and the loser is eliminated.
The Wild Card Round is best-of-three games. The League Division Series (ALCS & NLCS) is best-of-five games. The League Championship Series (ALDS & NLDS) is best-of-seven games. The World Series (WS) is best-of-seven games.
Who is in?- Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers secured the season’s first playoff berth – L.A.’s 10th straight trip to the postseason – and followed that by clinching the NL West with a win in Arizona the next day.
Houston Astros.
New York Mets.
Atlanta Braves.
New York Yankees.
Cleveland Guardians.
The Blue Jays enter the series in the top wild card spot in the American League, two games ahead of the Rays and 2.5 up on the Seattle Mariners, who also are struggling.
The Orioles are now three games back of the Seattle Mariners for the final wild-card spot. The Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays are tied for top spot, 1.5 games ahead of the Mariners.
World Series Champions
Year | Winner | Runner-Up |
---|---|---|
2022 | – | – |
2021 | Atlanta Braves | Houston Astros |
2020 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Tampa Bay Rays |
2019 | Washington Nationals | Houston Astros |
The 30 teams are divided evenly into two leagues: the National League (NL) and the American League (AL). Each league is divided into three divisions, East, Central and West, five teams in each division.
League Championship Series (ALCS and NLCS)
Only four times has a Wild Card team won the World Series: Florida Marlins (1997 and 2003), Anaheim Angels(2002), and Boston Red Sox (2004).
The World Series pits the champion of the American League against the champion of the National League to determine an overall winner. Each league is divided into three divisions each – West, Central and East. The team with the best record in each division gets an automatic playoff berth.
The 1980 Raiders were the first wild card team to win the Super Bowl, beating the Eagles in Super Bowl 15. The most recent team to accomplish the feat was the 2020 Buccaneers, who beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl 55.
Major League Baseball’s new postseason format for the 2022 season expands the playing field, creates more games and introduces a different path to the pennant. The wild-card game has been eliminated and gone is the one-game playoff to break ties in the standings.