MLB Postseason Format Explained: Wild Card Series to World Series
Twelve teams, four rounds and one trophy. Here is exactly how baseball's October bracket works.
October baseball is the best time of year for a lot of fans. Since 2022, MLB has used a 12-team postseason, and the format rewards the best regular season teams while still giving wild cards a real shot.
Who Qualifies
Each league (American and National) sends six teams:
- Three division winners
- Three wild card teams, the best records among the non-division winners
Teams are seeded 1 through 6 in each league. The division winners take seeds 1 to 3 based on record, and the wild cards fill seeds 4 to 6.
The Bye
The two best division winners in each league (seeds 1 and 2) skip the first round entirely. That rest is valuable, though some fans argue a long layoff can cool off a hot team.
Round 1: Wild Card Series (Best of Three)
- Seed 3 hosts Seed 6
- Seed 4 hosts Seed 5
All games are played at the higher seed's ballpark. With only three games, anything can happen, which is a big reason this round produces so many upsets.
Round 2: Division Series (Best of Five)
The Wild Card Series winners face the top two seeds. The bracket is fixed, so there is no reseeding.
Round 3: League Championship Series (Best of Seven)
The ALCS and NLCS decide the pennant winners. Win four games and you are going to the World Series.
Round 4: World Series (Best of Seven)
The AL and NL champions meet for the title. Home field goes to the team with the better regular season record, a rule that replaced the old All-Star Game tie-in years ago.
Format at a Glance
| Round | Length | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Wild Card Series | Best of 3 | 8 |
| Division Series | Best of 5 | 8 |
| League Championship Series | Best of 7 | 4 |
| World Series | Best of 7 | 2 |
Postseason Rule Differences
A few regular season rules do not apply in October. Most notably, there is no automatic runner on second base in extra innings. Learn more in our guide to the extra innings runner rule.
Related reading: the looming MLB lockout.
Background from Wikipedia
Major League Baseball postseason
The Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason is the annual playoff elimination tournament held to determine the champion of MLB in the United States and Canada. Since 2022, the postseason for each league—American and National—consists of two best-of-three Wild Card Series contested by the lowest-seeded division winner and the three wild card teams, two best-of-five Division Series (LDS) featuring the wild-card winners and the two highest-seeded division winners, and finally the best-of-seven League Championship Series (LCS). 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 postseason tournament takes place after the conclusion of MLB's regular season and takes approximately one month to complete.
Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Frequently Asked Questions
How many teams make the MLB playoffs?
Twelve teams make the MLB postseason: six from the American League and six from the National League.
Which MLB teams get a bye?
In each league, the two division winners with the best records get a bye past the Wild Card Series and go straight to the Division Series.
Who gets home field in the World Series?
The team with the better regular season record hosts Games 1, 2, 6 and 7 of the World Series.
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