Tiny Baseball Lessons: The MLB Postseason, Explained

Hey babes!

We've spent all season talking about division leaders, Wild Card races, clinching scenarios and tiebreakers. But what actually happens once a team makes the postseason?

In this Tiny Baseball Lesson, we're putting the entire MLB playoff picture together from start to finish ~

We're breaking down:

• How 12 teams qualify for the postseason
• Division winners vs. Wild Card teams
• What playoff seeds actually mean
• Why the top two seeds get a first-round bye
• How the Wild Card Series works
• The ALDS and NLDS
• The ALCS and NLCS
• How home-field advantage changes between rounds
• How a team finally reaches the World Series
• Why regular-season tiebreakers suddenly matter so much in September

Plus, we walk through the postseason picture as it stands on September 14 and see what the matchups would look like if the playoffs started today.

The easiest way to remember it?

12 teams → Wild Card Series → Division Series → Championship Series → World Series.

Six months and 162 games have been building toward this. Now it's almost time to see how the season ends!!

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Transcript

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Hey babe, welcome to Baseball for Girls, where baseball meets soft girl energy. I'm Shaunessy, and here we do baseball with heart, humanity, and a little humor. So, whether you're brand new to the game or deep in your baseball era, you're in the right place. So grab something cozy and settle in. And let's get into today's episode. Let's play ball! Hey babes! Welcome back to another episode of Baseball for Girls. So today, instead of doing a recap, I thought it would be a lot more helpful to do a tiny baseball lessons episode on the postseason. So we've been talking a lot about teams getting into the postseason, getting into the playoffs. We've talked a lot about the wildcard series and the teams that are trying to fight to get into the wildcard series, the teams that have been at the top of their division pretty much this entire time. So I feel like it's time to kind of put it all together and get a better idea of what it means to be in the postseason and how all these games kind of work and flow together. So just to start out looking at the bigger picture, we know that there are 30 teams in MLB, and those teams are divided into the American League and the National League. So there's 15 teams in each league. But for the postseason, only 12 out of the 30 teams are gonna be able to go to the postseason. So that means that there are six teams from each league that move forward and go to the playoffs. So six teams in the American League and six teams for the National League. And then those six teams are divided into two groups. So we have the division winners and the wild cards. So we know about division winners. We've been talking about who is at the top of the division pretty frequently throughout this season, and right now is when it actually matters. So we know that there are three divisions in each league. So the East, Central, and West divisions. So there is a winner for each division, and then we have three wild cards. So these are the three teams with the best records who did not win their division. So those two groups make up the six teams that are in the American League and the six teams that are in the National League to make the 12 total teams that go to the postseason. So we have six teams from each league, and now we have to rank them. So these teams are called the six seeds, like S-E-E-D-S, like seeds that you put in the ground. But a seed in this situation defines the position of the team in the playoff bracket. So the division winners are seeds one through three, while the wild cards are seeds four through six. So to begin the playoffs, we have the wild card series, which is a series that is a best of three. So whoever wins two out of three games gets to move on to the next round. But the wild card series is the first round of the postseason, and it really is only those teams that are wild cards. So the number one and number two seeds, so the top division winners do not have to play in the wildcard series. They get a first round bye, like BYE, a bye, which just means they automatically advance to the next round, which would be the division series. So they get a few days off during the wild card series. So this is when it gets a little bit confusing. So I'll try to break it down as simply as possible. But for the wild card series, we know that since number one and number two seeds get to go home, that means we're left with three, four, five, and six, which are our wild cards. So number three is going to play number six, and number four is going to play number five. And like I said, this is a best of three series, and all the games are actually played at the highest seeds home field. So that means that seed number three and seed number four will have home field advantage. There is no traveling during the wild card series. So that is why I talked a lot about positioning in the wildcard series. Now that we're getting down to the wire, it really does matter where you are in your positioning within the wildcard because it can make a difference if you have that home field advantage or not. And we can remember that we care about home field advantage just because in baseball we only play the bottom of the ninth inning if the home team is losing. So that is what creates home field advantage. It creates a situation where the losing team, if they are at home, can then have a comeback and win the game in a situation where they were probably going to lose. So once the best of three games are played and we have our winners from the three versus six and four versus five wildcard games, we move on to the division series. So you'll hear this called the ALDS or NLDS, so the American League Division Series and the National League Division Series. So those teams that were taking a little break during the wildcard series, and now they get to play again. So the number one seed is going to play the winner of the four vs. wildcard series, and seed number two is going to play the winner of the three versus six wildcard series. Now the ALDS slash NLDS is a best of five series. So that means that the team has to win three out of five games in order to advance to the next round. Interestingly, home field advantage is treated a little bit differently here because they do travel back and forth. So it is a 2-2-1 pattern. So the first two games are played at the highest seed home field, then they travel to the lower seeds field for the next two games, and if there's a last game, they will move back to the higher seeds home field. But like I said, this is a best of five. So there is a situation where you go to where you have your first two games at the higher seed. Let's say that higher seed wins both of those games, then they travel to the lower seeds home field for the next two games, but the higher seed ends up winning the third game, and therefore there is no need for a game four or five, and the higher seed would win the division in this specific example. So it really is whoever gets to three wins first. It doesn't matter the order, and if someone gets to three wins, the series is automatically over. They don't keep playing to get to five, like they usually do in the regular season. Okay, so now we have our winners from the ALDS and the NLDS. So we remember that from the division series in both leagues. So for example, in the American League division series, the number one seed played the winner of the four vs. wildcard series, and seed number two in the American League played the winner of the three versus six wildcard series. So now in each of those games there was a winner from that best of five. So now we have two teams in the American League, and respectively we have two teams in the National League that will advance to the championship series. So this is where it gets even more interesting because the championship series is best of seven. You'll also hear the championship series called like ALCS for the American League and NLCS for the National League. But this series is a best of seven, so whoever wins four games first then will win the pennant. And that just means that that is the team that is going to the World Series. So you might have heard like the terms like American League pennant winner. So that is the team that won the championship series, but also that means that they won the division series as well. So they won the pennant and they went forward to the World Series. The Championship Series follows a 2-3-2 format for home field advantage. So the higher seed plays games one and two at their home field. Then the two teams will travel to the lower seeds home field and play three games there. And if necessary, the teams will then travel back to the higher seeds home field to play the last two games. But again, those last two, or really those last three games, might not be necessary if one of the teams wins four in a row. It really is whoever gets two four wins first that ultimately wins the championship series. Okay, so now it's what we've all been waiting for all season, the world series. So the winner from the American League Championship Series and the winner from the National League Championship Series, then go head to head for a best of seven series, following the same format as the championship series with a 2-3-2 home field advantage. However, in this situation, we are no longer looking at seeding. Now we're looking at the regular season record. So whoever had the best regular season record gets the first home field advantage. So those first two games, and then they travel to the other team with the second best regular season record and play three games, and then they travel back for the last two games at the home field of the team with the best regular season record, if necessary. Okay, so I know that's a lot, so let's try to take a moment to kind of put all of it together. So we start out with 12 postseason teams, six from the American League and six from the National League, and in each league there is seeding one through six. So the first two seeds, so one and two, get the first round by. So the American League and the National League will then have two winners from those two games in the division series. The division series is a best of five, and all you have to do is win three. Those winners then move on to the American League or National League Championship series, which is a best of seven, where they need to win four games. At the end of this series, there will be one winner from the ALCS and one winner from the NLCS, and they both become the American League or National League champions. They will then meet in the World Series, which is also a best of seven, where they need to win four games. And that team is your World Series champion. So overall, we start with 12 teams, we do the wildcard series, the division series, the championship series, and then finally the world series. And that's the postseason. I think it might be a little bit helpful to look at the postseason picture as it is right now, as of today, which is September 14th. So for the American League, the number one seed is the Tampa Bay Rays. They actually just clenched their playoff birth, which means that they are officially going to the postseason, even if they lose the rest of the games this season. They have mathematically guaranteed their spot in the postseason. But this doesn't necessarily mean that they're guaranteed to win the division series. The Yankees are only four games behind, and if Tampa Bay does happen to lose the rest of the games of this season, then the Yankees could potentially win the division, but the Tampa Bay Rays would still be going to the playoffs. Okay, so Tampa Bay is the number one seed. The number two seed is the Chicago White Sox. So as of today, the Rays and the White Sox would have the first round bye, so they wouldn't play the first couple of games, which we know is going to be the wild card series. So right now, the American League wild cards are the Houston Astros and the number three seed, the New York Yankees in number four, the Boston Red Sox in number five, and the Cleveland Guardians in number six. So we know for the wild card series, the number three seed plays number six, and the number four seed plays number five. So as of today, the Astros will be playing the Guardians, and the Yankees will be playing the Red Sox in the Wildcard series. And whoever wins in Yankees versus Red Sox will then move on to play the Tampa Bay Rays in a five-game series. And whoever wins in the Astros versus Guardians game will then move on to play the White Sox in a five-game series for the American League Division series. And then for the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers also clinched their playoff berth. So they are the number one seed. The number two seed is the Los Angeles Dodgers. And number three is the Atlanta Braves. Number four is Chicago, followed by number five, which is the Philadelphia Phillies. And finally, the San Diego Padres are the number six seed in the National League. So in this situation, the Cubs number four are going to be playing the Phillies number five. And the Braves number three are going to be playing the Padres number six. Whoever wins in Braves versus Padres will then play the Dodgers. And whoever wins Cubs versus Phillies would then play the Milwaukee Brewers. So that is really all we know so far for the postseason picture. Everything else would just be like hypothetical situations. It isn't until we get past this wildcard series that we can make better estimates for who might actually be going to the World Series. Ugh, it's just so exciting. This is such a fun time in baseball. This is when a lot of people will start paying attention to baseball. And honestly, I don't blame them. It is so much fun to watch, and it's just gonna be a great postseason. I think it's gonna be really fun. I really think we're looking down the barrel of a Brewers versus White Sox World Series. Called it here, we'll see what happens. And since we've been talking so much about tiebreakers lately, I did want to add one more thing. So I've mentioned before that there is no game 163. So if two teams do finish the regular season with an identical record, that tie could affect who wins the division or who gets a wildcard spot and just overall where they're seated within the postseason picture. And we know that MLB uses tiebreaker rules instead of making them play another game. And the first line of defense for a tiebreaker is looking at the head-to-head record between the two teams. And that is why we've been talking so much about tiebreakers lately, because if there's a tie, it really does define the postseason picture. So then suddenly games that happened in April or May become extremely important in late September. So hopefully, when we get to September 29th, which is the beginning of the wildcard series, you can look at the bracket and actually understand what you're looking at. Twelve teams, six teams from each league, two teams in each league get a buy, and everyone else is gonna start fighting through the wildcard round. And then eventually that giant bracket gets whittled down until there are only two teams left standing, and we get to go to the World Series. So everything that we've been watching and keeping up with and recapping all season is culminating to the postseason, all the streaks, all the matchups, everything is coming together to weave this beautiful postseason picture. And oh my gosh, I just can't wait. Baseball is nothing but the biggest buildup to the most exciting, sought-after sports series, in my opinion, which is the World Series. And now we just get to sit back and enjoy and see how the season's gonna end. So, really, baseball always teaches us that yes, every day it seems like you're doing one small task that doesn't really seem to be adding up to anything, but doing the same thing every day, trying to be as consistent as you possibly can, even when you have your ups and downs, trying to show up all the time, eventually, inevitably, you will reach your goal. And it's just a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful thing, and I'm really excited. I know you're excited, and I hope that this was helpful. Please send this episode to someone who doesn't really understand how the playoffs work because honestly, honey, it took me a long time to figure it out too. So there is no shame. We're all figuring this out together. And with that, I will see you guys next time. Thank you again for joining me in the softest corner of sports media. Have a great rest of your week. Bye.