General Sports Talk
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72 members have voted
September 17th, 2025 at 8:31:38 AM
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the MLB playoff system which was adopted in 2022 is pretty complicated - wow
The MLB playoffs feature 12 teams (six per league) competing in a bracket-style tournament to determine the World Series champion. The format includes a best-of-three Wild Card Series, a best-of-five Division Series, a best-of-seven League Championship Series, and culminates in the best-of-seven World Series. Top-seeded teams receive a bye to the Division Series, while other teams compete in the Wild Card Series to advance.
Team Qualification
Six teams per league: The American League (AL) and National League (NL) each send six teams to the postseason.
Three division winners: The team with the best record in each division (East, Central, West) receives a playoff spot.
Three Wild Card teams: The three teams with the best regular-season records that did not win their division also qualify.
Seeding and Byes
Seeds 1-3: The three division winners are seeded 1 through 3 based on their regular-season winning percentages.
Seeds 4-6: The three Wild Card teams are seeded 4 through 6 based on their records.
First-round byes: Seeds 1 and 2 in each league automatically advance to the Division Series, bypassing the Wild Card Series.
Playoff Rounds
Wild Card Series (Best-of-Three):
Participants: The 3-seed faces the 6-seed, and the 4-seed plays the 5-seed.
Format: A best-of-three series.
Home-field: The higher-seeded team hosts all three games.
Division Series (Best-of-Five):
Participants: The two Wild Card Series winners advance to play the 1-seed and 2-seed division winners.
Format: A best-of-five series where the first team to win three games advances.
League Championship Series (Best-of-Seven):
Participants: The winners of the ALDS and NLDS.
Format: A best-of-seven series; the first team to win four games advances.
World Series (Best-of-Seven):
Participants: The champion of the American League Championship Series faces the champion of the National League Championship Series.
Format: The final best-of-seven series to determine the overall MLB champion.
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the MLB playoff system which was adopted in 2022 is pretty complicated - wow
The MLB playoffs feature 12 teams (six per league) competing in a bracket-style tournament to determine the World Series champion. The format includes a best-of-three Wild Card Series, a best-of-five Division Series, a best-of-seven League Championship Series, and culminates in the best-of-seven World Series. Top-seeded teams receive a bye to the Division Series, while other teams compete in the Wild Card Series to advance.
Team Qualification
Six teams per league: The American League (AL) and National League (NL) each send six teams to the postseason.
Three division winners: The team with the best record in each division (East, Central, West) receives a playoff spot.
Three Wild Card teams: The three teams with the best regular-season records that did not win their division also qualify.
Seeding and Byes
Seeds 1-3: The three division winners are seeded 1 through 3 based on their regular-season winning percentages.
Seeds 4-6: The three Wild Card teams are seeded 4 through 6 based on their records.
First-round byes: Seeds 1 and 2 in each league automatically advance to the Division Series, bypassing the Wild Card Series.
Playoff Rounds
Wild Card Series (Best-of-Three):
Participants: The 3-seed faces the 6-seed, and the 4-seed plays the 5-seed.
Format: A best-of-three series.
Home-field: The higher-seeded team hosts all three games.
Division Series (Best-of-Five):
Participants: The two Wild Card Series winners advance to play the 1-seed and 2-seed division winners.
Format: A best-of-five series where the first team to win three games advances.
League Championship Series (Best-of-Seven):
Participants: The winners of the ALDS and NLDS.
Format: A best-of-seven series; the first team to win four games advances.
World Series (Best-of-Seven):
Participants: The champion of the American League Championship Series faces the champion of the National League Championship Series.
Format: The final best-of-seven series to determine the overall MLB champion.
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the foolish sayings of a rich man often pass for words of wisdom by the fools around him
September 17th, 2025 at 11:05:35 AM
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The only thing that really distinguishes it from other sports is that the Wild Card Series is played in one city, with the lower-rated team not getting a home playoff game. The playoff formats are essentially a product of television money, so they are becoming increasingly cookie-cutter.
I was only a fan for one year (1968) before baseball introduced the playoffs. That first year gave us the Miracle Mets, and I've been a fan of the less-is-more playoff system, but I've read baseball makes more money in October than during the regular season.
I was only a fan for one year (1968) before baseball introduced the playoffs. That first year gave us the Miracle Mets, and I've been a fan of the less-is-more playoff system, but I've read baseball makes more money in October than during the regular season.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
