October is here, and alongside the fall foliage, pumpkin treats, and cooler weather, postseason baseball has also arrived! The MLB playoffs began on Oct. 1 and will last throughout most of the month as a dozen teams take a swing at becoming World Series Champions. Whether you’ve been eagerly following your team since pitchers and catchers reported in February or you just want to watch the World Series, this guide will tell you everything you need to know about how the postseason works and what to look out for over the next couple of weeks.
A quick guide to playoff eligibility:
Each baseball team plays 162 games in their regular season, split into “series” where a team plays about two to four games consecutively against the same team. The length of the season and the frequency of games means that no team has a perfect record and predictions can vary widely throughout the year. Think following a team once a week is stressful? Try following them when they play basically every day.
The 30 teams are separated into two leagues: the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). From there, each league is split into three divisions roughly based on location. Each league has an East, Central, and West division, making six total divisions each with five teams. The Boston Red Sox, for instance, play in the AL East.
Playoff eligibility is determined by each team’s win record. The six teams that made the playoffs based on being the best in their division were: the New York Yankees (AL East), the Cleveland Guardians (AL Central), the Houston Astros (AL West), the Philadelphia Phillies (NL East), the Milwaukee Brewers (NL Central) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (NL West).
There are also three wildcards in each league. These are teams with the best record in the league out of the teams that didn’t already clinch their division. The wildcard teams were: the Baltimore Orioles (AL), the Kansas City Royals (AL), the Detroit Tigers (AL), the San Diego Padres (NL), the Atlanta Braves (NL) and the New York Mets (NL).
Initially, 12 teams make the playoffs. They each then play in rounds against each other, gradually narrowing down to two teams that play in the World Series. The first round of the playoffs is the Wildcard Series, which consists of four series, played to the best of three games between the wildcard teams and the division leader with the lowest record within the league.
The next round, the Division Series (ALDS/NLDS) is a best of five round. The round after that, the League Championship Series (ALCS/NLCS), is played best of seven games. This then brings us to the World Series, where the two leagues meet. This series is played to the best of seven games, and the winning team becomes World Series Champions!
Current standings and predictions:
That brings us to the real question: who will it be?
The current round of the playoffs is the League Championship Series. The ALCS is being played between the Yankees and the Guardians. MLB.com suggests that the Yankees are more likely to win this series. As of Tuesday, Oct. 15, the series is 2-0 Yankees. The NLCS is between the Dodgers and Mets. MLB.com suggests that the Mets are more likely to win, although predictions about this matchup are more mixed. In fact, reporters for CBS Sports are split about who will win this series. While the Dodgers were the winner of their division and the Mets made the playoffs via wildcard qualification, the Dodgers have had some injury issues that may give the Mets the edge. As of Oct. 16 the series is 1-1.
Now that you too are a baseball superfan, I’m sure you’ll be tuning in to each and every game until the World Series! You can tune into the rest of the playoffs on TBS and Fox. Don’t sleep on radio broadcasts either. Watch/listen with your friends, compare bracket predictions and have fun!
Contact the editors responsible for this story: Julee Sharma, Katie McCabe
