What number of video games within the MLB playoffs? Explaining baseball postseason format from wild card to World Sequence

The baseball season is an extended, winding grind as it’s. And with the expanded playoffs, it is an excellent longer street for some groups hoping to win the World Sequence.

Main League Baseball’s postseason has undergone many adjustments through the years. It was merely the highest two groups in every league dealing with off within the World Sequence. 

In 1969, MLB expanded the format to incorporate league championship collection, which means two groups in every league would battle it out for the pennant to go to the Fall Traditional. It added one other spherical in 1994, placing within the Division Sequence in both league that accompanied the introduction of the Central divisions to go together with the East and West in every league. It additionally added the fourth wild card.

In recent times, the format has modified a number of instances. MLB added a wild-card sport in 2012 that pitted two wild-card groups towards each other in a winner-take-all single sport. That format noticed a short interruption when 16 groups make the playoffs in the course of the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

MORE: MLB postseason schedule

The newest change to a brand new format happened final 12 months. The 2 division winners with the perfect information in every league earn byes to the Division Sequence, whereas the third division staff and three wild-card groups all need to play in a best-of-three wild-card spherical of the postseason, including one other full spherical of video games to the postseason schedule.

With the adjustments all settled, what number of video games are in MLB’s postseason? Here is what you could know.

What number of video games are within the MLB playoffs?

Wild-card spherical

The wild-card spherical options 4 groups in every league: the three wild playing cards and the division winner seeded the bottom. These groups will face off in a best-of-three collection hosted by the upper seed, with the winners then headed to the ALDS or NLDS. At most, a collection may take as much as three video games to be determined.

Division Sequence

For the second straight spherical, there are 4 groups in every league competing in collection. These are comprised of the highest two division winners that earned the byes to this spherical, and the opposite two are the winners of the wild-card rounds.

Right here, the groups match up in best-of-five collection. The primary two video games and a possible fifth sport can be hosted by the upper seed, whereas the third and potential fourth video games are hosted on the decrease seed. At most, the collection can take as much as 5 video games to finish.

League Championship Sequence

Solely two groups in every league will attain the League Championship Sequence. The winner of these collection will then head on to the World Sequence. This collection is a best-of-seven. The primary and second, in addition to potential sixth and seventh video games are hosted by the upper seed within the league, and the third, fourth and potential fifth video games are hosted by the decrease seed.

If the collection goes the total size, it may attain seven video games.

World Sequence

The winner of every league meets within the World Sequence in a best-of-seven collection. In contrast to in previous years when home-field benefit was decided by the successful league within the All-Star Recreation, the World Sequence is decided by the staff with the perfect document or by the league’s system of tiebreakers.

The World Sequence is scheduled start on Friday, Oct. 27, and if it goes a full seven video games, then it might finish on Saturday, Nov. 4.

The order of the video games is similar because the LCS: Video games 1, 2, 6 and seven are on the increased seed and Video games 3, 4 and 5 are on the decrease seed. If the collection goes full, it may get to seven video games.

The longest street a staff can go within the playoffs in an effort to win the World Sequence can be to 22 video games, in the event that they emerge from the wild-card spherical and win each collection within the most quantity of video games wanted to be performed.