How Many Teams Are Left in the Baseball Playoffs?
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As the MLB regular season comes to an end, only 8 teams remain in the hunt for a World Series title. Who will make it to the Fall Classic?
American League
As of October 8th, 2020, there are four teams left in the American League playoffs. The Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees, the Houston Astros, and the Cleveland Indians are all still fighting for a spot in the World Series. The Yankees and the Rays have already clinched their spot in the American League Championship Series.
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of two major league clubs based in New York City; the other club is the National League (NL)’s New York Mets. The Yankees began play in the 1901 season as the Baltimore Orioles (no relation to the modern Baltimore Orioles). In 1903, Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchased the franchise after it ceased operations and moved it to New York City. The team’s home ballpark since 1923 has been Yankee Stadium.
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after spending their first 51 seasons in the National League (NL). The Astros have played their home games at Minute Maid Park since 2000.
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area which includes the two adjoining cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
The Twins play their home games at Target Field, which the team shares with the Seattle Mariners. The ballpark opened in 2010 and cost $522 million to build, making it the third-most expensive stadium in Major League Baseball at that time. The Twins are owned by Jim Pohlad and managed by Rocco Baldelli.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team’s home ballpark has been Tropicana Field.
The franchise began play as an expansion team in the 1998 Major League Baseball season. The Rays joined the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays as the league’s three expansion teams that year. Through their first decade of existence, the Rays experienced many periods of losing baseball. They finished last in the AL East nine times through ten seasons, including a club-record six times consecutively from 2007–2012; this included five seasons with at least ninety losses, and three seasons with one hundred or more losses (2007, 2009, & 2010). The 2008 season was notable for avoiding an eighth consecutive last-place finish; it would be their only non-losing season until 2018, and featured star players Evan Longoria and David Price; Longoria was later awarded Rookie of the Year honors for his play that season. Since then, they have been to the playoffs four times (2010–2011, 2013–2014), won their first AL pennant in 2008, and their first World Series championship in 2020.
National League
The National League playoff race is really tight this year! As of right now, there are 5 teams fighting for the 2 wildcard spots.
Los Angeles Dodgers
As of October 9, 2019, the Los Angeles Dodgers are one of four teams remaining in the National League playoffs. The others are the Atlanta Braves, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Washington Nationals. The Dodgers will play the Braves in the National League Division Series, with the winner advancing to the National League Championship Series.
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are members of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves have won three World Series championships, fourteen NL pennants, and have played in seventeen World Series.
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadium while their permanent stadium was being built. In 2008, they moved in to Nationals Park, located on South Capitol Street in the Southeast quadrant of D.C., near the Anacostia River.
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Cardinals have won 11 World Series championships, the second-most in NL history, and 19 NL pennants, third-most all-time. Baseball Hall of Fame inductees include Lou Brock, Dizzy Dean, Bob Gibson, Whitey Herzog, Rogers Hornsby, Jackie Robinson, and Stan Musial.
