This will be a unique day in the history of Major League Baseball. There will be four wildcard games played as MLB is implementing their expanded wildcard format for the first time. So how does this new playoff system work? Let’s take a look.
New Playoff Format
In the American League and National League, the third place teams will play the sixth place teams, and the fourth place teams will play the fifth place teams in the wildcard series. The division leader in each league with the worst record is guaranteed the third seed, regardless if they have a worse record than a team that did not win their division. It should also be noted that in all four wildcard series, the team with the best record will host all three games in the series, as there is no travel involved. So, teams that are seeded fifth and sixth in each league, do not have the opportunity to have a postseason game at home in the first round.
The winners of all four best-of-three wildcard series will then play the top two teams in each league in the American League and National League Divisional Series starting next week. The winners of the two divisional series in each league will play in the American League Championship Series and the National League Championship Series. Then, as always the ALCS and NLCS winners will play in the World Series.
Four Wildcard Series
In the American League, the Cleveland Guardians (seeded third) will play the Tampa Bay Rays (seeded sixth), and the Toronto Blue Jays (seeded fourth) will play the Seattle Mariners (seeded fifth). Games will be played in Cleveland and Toronto.
In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals (seeded third) will play the Philadelphia Phillies (seeded sixth), and the New York Mets (seeded fourth) will play the San Diego Padres (seeded fifth). Games will be played in New York and St. Louis. The winners of the two AL Wildcard Series will play Houston and the New York Yankees. The winners of the two NL Wildcard Series will play Atlanta and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
