Playoffs Major League Baseball

Until 1969: One Round

Until 1969, the winner of each league was determined on the basis of the regular championship. The winners met in the final series of games up to 4 wins (in 1903, 1919, 1920, 1921 - up to 5 wins), which was called the World Series .

1969–1993: two rounds

In 1969 , both leagues were expanded to 12 teams, which further increased competition in the fight for victory in the leagues. In addition, the uneven geographical distribution of teams could give some advantage to teams playing more games in their region. Considering these factors, each league was divided into two divisions ( East and West - six teams in each according to geographic location), and an additional round of playoffs was introduced to determine the winner of the league - the Champions League Series , in which the teams that won in the regular season, the first places in their divisions.

Initially, the championship series was held to 3 wins (the maximum number of games 5). Starting from 1985 , 4 wins are required to determine the winner (maximum of 7 matches).

Within the framework of such a system of drawing, a situation was possible when one of the best teams did not get into the playoffs (if it does not win its division). A vivid example was the season of 1993 , when Atlanta and San Francisco , following the results of the regular championship, had absolutely the best results among all 4 divisions (they won 104 and 103 victories, respectively). But since both were in the same division, San Francisco did not make it to the playoffs.

The 1981 season was overshadowed by the strike of the players, which divided it into two roughly equal parts. As a result, to determine the winners of the divisions, an additional play-off round of up to 3 wins was held - Series of divisions , in which the winners of the first and second part of the season met. The winners of these series became participants in the Champions League Series .

1994–2011: three rounds

By the 1994 season, the number of participating teams increased to 28 (14 in each league), and the structure and format of the tournament were changed again. Both leagues were divided into three divisions ( Center divisions were added, and teams were rotated). To save an even number of participants in the playoffs, in each league an additional place in the playoffs was introduced - Wild Card . The right to this place at the end of the regular season received the best of the teams that are not the winner of the division.

As a result of these changes, the number of participants in the playoffs doubled, and an additional round was introduced up to 3 victories - the Series of divisions .
The team that received the Wilde Card held a series with the winner of one of the two “foreign” divisions, who showed the best result in the regular season. Two other division winners played each other.
The winners of the series of divisions, as before, met in the Champions League series for the right to get into the World Series.

A new tournament format was to be applied in the 1994 season. However, the season was not completed due to the regular strike of the players. Thus, the first season, carried out under the new scheme, was the 1995 season .

2012– Present: Wild Card Expansion

In the 2012 season , another Wilde Card seat was added. Thus, in addition to the three division winners, the two best teams from the remaining teams have the opportunity to participate in the playoffs.

The teams that received the Wilde Card meet each other in an extra round consisting of just one game. The winner gets the right to participate in the Divisional series and gets a rival to the winner of the division with the best result for the regular season (even if he represents the same division).

World Series

During the world series, various formats were used to determine the home field.
Initially, the games of the series were held in turns ( 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 ). The owner of the field in the 7th game (if it was necessary to carry it out) was determined by drawing lots (a coin was thrown).

Since the 1924 season, the series was carried out according to the scheme 2-3-2 . This format has reduced the transport costs of moving teams after each game. At the same time, the advantage of the home field was alternately provided to representatives of the American and National Leagues.

From 2003 to 2016 , the advantage of the home field was the representative of the league, which won the All-Star Game . The format of 2-3-2 has not changed.

From the 2017 season, the home field gains the team that showed the best result in the regular season. The 2-3-2 format remains unchanged.

Champions League Series

Initially, the advantage of an additional home game was provided in turn to different divisions.
In the 1985 season, the format was changed from 2-3 to 2-3-2 (the series was held up to 4 victories).
Since 1998 , the advantage is given to the team that showed the best result in the regular season. At the same time, the team that got into the playoffs via wild card cannot receive it.

Division Series

Initially, the advantage of an additional home game was provided in turn to different divisions. The format used was 2-3 .

Since 1998 , the advantage is given to the teams that showed the best results for the regular season. At the same time, the team that got into the playoffs via wild card , as before, cannot get this advantage. The format has been changed to 2-2-1 .