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Baseball TipsOverview
Major League Baseball has gone from pitting the pennant winners in the American League and National League against each other in the World Series to a much more complex playoff format. Now that each league has been divided into three divisions, determining post-season play is more difficult. However, by looking at the standings at the end of the regular season, it's possible to figure out which teams will match up and vie for a spot in the World Series to determine a champion.
Step 1
Look at the standings and see which teams were division winners. Each division in MLB crowns a division winner at the end of the regular season based on the team with the best won-loss record. These division winners automatically qualify for the post-season.
Step 2
Establish which team in each league won the wild card spot. The wild card playoff spot was introduced in 1994 but due to the baseball strike that season, it was 1995 before a wild card team was involved in the playoffs. The wild card is the team in each league that has the best record among non-division winners.
Step 3
Know the tiebreaker rules. If there is a tie between two teams for a division title or for the wild card spot, the teams play a one-game playoff to determine which team advances to the post-season. However, if the teams tied atop a division at the end of the regular season are from the same division and the loser of such a playoff would still be assured of getting the wild card, a playoff isn't necessary. In case of a tie, the division winner is the team that had the best record in head-to-head competition between these two clubs. If head-to-head play was even, the record within the division is the standard that MLB goes by to come up with a division winner. If this still fails to break the tie, the team with the superior record over the last 81 games is declared the winner. If need be, this tiebreaker will extend back to however many games it takes beyond 81 to break the deadlock.
Step 4
Ascertain the match-ups in the Division Series. The division winner with the best record will play the wild card team unless the wild card is from the same division. In such a scenario, that division winner will play the division winner with the worst record and the other division winner will play the wild card team. The teams with the best records will have home-field advantage in this series.
Step 5
Realize that the winners of the two Division Series in each league will then meet in a best-of-seven League Championship Series. The team with the superior record will have home-field advantage for this series unless it's a wild card team. In such a case, the division winner will host the first two games and Games 6 and 7 if they are needed. The team that emerges from the League Championship Series is the pennant winner for the league.
Step 6
Verify which league champion will have home-field advantage in the World Series. This is determined by the winner of the annual All-Star Game between the American and National League. The team with the home field will again host Games 1, 2, along with Games 6 and 7 if needed. Games 3 through 5 are played at the home field of the team from the league that lost the All-Star Game in July.
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