When Are The Playoffs For Baseball?
It’s October, and that means the MLB playoffs are in full swing. But when do they end? We break it down for you.
Overview
The playoffs for baseball typically start in early October and can last until the end of the month. The playoffs are a best-of-seven series between the two divisional winners from each league. The winner of each series moves on to the next round until the World Series.
Qualifying
In order to qualify for the playoffs, a team must first win their division, or if they are not in first place in their division, they must have one of the two best records among the wild card teams in their league. As of the 2012 Major League Baseball season, there are eight teams in each league who qualify for the playoffs. The four division winners play in the Division Series, which is a best-of-five series. The two remaining teams with the best record remaining play each other in what is called the Wild Card Game, which is a one-game playoff. The winner of that game advances to the Division Series to play one of the division winners.
Divisional Playoffs
The Divisional Playoffs are the first step in the Major League Baseball playoff tournament.
Ten teams play in the Divisional Playoffs: the three division winners from each league, and two wild card teams from each league. The division winner with the best record in each league plays the wild card team with the worst record, and the other two division winners play each other.
The winners of each of the four Divisional Playoff series advance to the League Championship Series.
League Championship Series
The League Championship Series (LCS) is the final stage of the Major League Baseball postseason. The winners of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and National League Championship Series (NLCS) advance to play each other in the best-of-seven World Series.
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior to 1969, the postseason was expanded from a best-of-seven to a best-of-nine affair. From 1903 to 1968, the World Series was not held in the event that neither American League (AL) nor National League (NL) teams had a winning percentage (WP) of .600 or better. In addition, prior to 1969, at least one team had to have been headquartered within the city limits of New York City or Chicago. As it stands now, the World Series is a best-of-seven playoff between the champions of the AL and NL that is generally held in October.
