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Wild Card Series
The Wild Card Series (WCS) (formerly known as Wild Card Games from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that are held in late September or early October and serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason. A single wild card game was instituted in 2012. This became a best-of-three playoff wild card series in 2020 as a one-off, and became permanent (albeit with fewer teams playing than in the 2020 series) starting in the 2022 season.
There are two wild card series each, in the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The lowest-seeded division winner and three wild card teams in each league play in a best-of-three series after the end of the regular season. The winners of each league's wild card series advance to face the two-best division winners in that league's Division Series. This expansion of the postseason abolished any regular-season-extending tie-breaker games.
Under the format adopted in 2022, six teams in each league are assigned seeds for the postseason. In each league, the three division winners are seeded #1–3, per their relative winning percentages. The lowest-seeded division winner is automatically given the No. 3 seed even if one or all other wild-card teams has a better record. Also in each league, the three teams with the best winning percentages among non-division winning teams are wild cards, seeded #4–6, per their relative winning percentages. Any ties are broken using a set of MLB tie-breaking procedures; as such, no tie-breaking games (colloquially known as "Game 163") are contested.
The top two division winners in each league receive first-round byes to the Division Series. The remaining four teams, seeds No. 3 through No. 6, play in two best-of-3 wild card series, with the higher seed hosting all games. These two series are: No. 3 hosting No. 6, and No. 4 hosting No. 5.
In the Division Series, the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 series faces the No. 1 seed, and the winner of the No. 3. vs. No. 6 series faces the No. 2 seed. The bracket structure in each league looks as follows:
The Wild Card round was initially introduced in 2012 as a single-game playoff between two wild-card teams in each league, with the winner advancing to the Division Series. With the adoption of MLB's new collective bargaining agreement in November 2011, baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced that a new playoff system would begin within the next two years; the change was ultimately put into place in 2012. This format was used through the 2019 season.
For the 2020 postseason, following a shortened 60-game regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MLB held a one-off Wild Card Series with eight teams in each league, thus a total of 16 playoff teams. Division champions were seeded 1–3 by record, the second-place teams seeded 4–6 by record, and the two teams with the next-best records were seeded seventh and eighth. Matchups were contested as best-of-three series rather than individual games. MLB returned to the previous format of one Wild Card Game per league for the 2021 postseason, before it changed to two best-of-three Wild Card series per league the next year.
As of the beginning of the 2024 postseason, 29 of the 30 MLB franchises have reached the Wild Card round of the postseason (either a Wild Card Game or the Wild Card Series). The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays each have the most appearances with five, and have the most wins during the Wild Card round with three each. The Milwaukee Brewers, the Athletics, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Toronto Blue Jays each have the most losses during the Wild Card round, with three each. The Los Angeles Angels are the only franchise that has never played in the Wild Card round.
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Wild Card Series
The Wild Card Series (WCS) (formerly known as Wild Card Games from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that are held in late September or early October and serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason. A single wild card game was instituted in 2012. This became a best-of-three playoff wild card series in 2020 as a one-off, and became permanent (albeit with fewer teams playing than in the 2020 series) starting in the 2022 season.
There are two wild card series each, in the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The lowest-seeded division winner and three wild card teams in each league play in a best-of-three series after the end of the regular season. The winners of each league's wild card series advance to face the two-best division winners in that league's Division Series. This expansion of the postseason abolished any regular-season-extending tie-breaker games.
Under the format adopted in 2022, six teams in each league are assigned seeds for the postseason. In each league, the three division winners are seeded #1–3, per their relative winning percentages. The lowest-seeded division winner is automatically given the No. 3 seed even if one or all other wild-card teams has a better record. Also in each league, the three teams with the best winning percentages among non-division winning teams are wild cards, seeded #4–6, per their relative winning percentages. Any ties are broken using a set of MLB tie-breaking procedures; as such, no tie-breaking games (colloquially known as "Game 163") are contested.
The top two division winners in each league receive first-round byes to the Division Series. The remaining four teams, seeds No. 3 through No. 6, play in two best-of-3 wild card series, with the higher seed hosting all games. These two series are: No. 3 hosting No. 6, and No. 4 hosting No. 5.
In the Division Series, the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 series faces the No. 1 seed, and the winner of the No. 3. vs. No. 6 series faces the No. 2 seed. The bracket structure in each league looks as follows:
The Wild Card round was initially introduced in 2012 as a single-game playoff between two wild-card teams in each league, with the winner advancing to the Division Series. With the adoption of MLB's new collective bargaining agreement in November 2011, baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced that a new playoff system would begin within the next two years; the change was ultimately put into place in 2012. This format was used through the 2019 season.
For the 2020 postseason, following a shortened 60-game regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MLB held a one-off Wild Card Series with eight teams in each league, thus a total of 16 playoff teams. Division champions were seeded 1–3 by record, the second-place teams seeded 4–6 by record, and the two teams with the next-best records were seeded seventh and eighth. Matchups were contested as best-of-three series rather than individual games. MLB returned to the previous format of one Wild Card Game per league for the 2021 postseason, before it changed to two best-of-three Wild Card series per league the next year.
As of the beginning of the 2024 postseason, 29 of the 30 MLB franchises have reached the Wild Card round of the postseason (either a Wild Card Game or the Wild Card Series). The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays each have the most appearances with five, and have the most wins during the Wild Card round with three each. The Milwaukee Brewers, the Athletics, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Toronto Blue Jays each have the most losses during the Wild Card round, with three each. The Los Angeles Angels are the only franchise that has never played in the Wild Card round.