Who’s In The Baseball Playoffs?

The baseball playoffs are upon us and it’s time to take a look at who’s in and who’s out.

American League

The American League playoff field is set, with the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and Houston Astros earning postseason spots. The AL Wild Card Game will feature the Rays and Blue Jays on Tuesday night, with the winner advancing to face the Indians in the ALDS.

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. The team have won nine World Series championships, tied for the third-most of any MLB team, and they are one of two MLB teams with four pre-World Series championships.

Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since 1994, they have played at Progressive Field. The team’s spring training facility is at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. Since their establishment as a major league franchise in 1901, the Indians have won two World Series championships: in 1920 and 1948, along with 10 Central Division titles and six American League pennants.

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. The team was established as the Houston Colt .45s and began play in 1962 as an expansion team alongside the New York Mets. The Astros played in four World Series championships – 1981, 1986, 2005, and 2017 – becoming the first franchise in Texas to do so and the only franchise to represent the state of Texas in all four Fall Classic appearances. They also became the first American League team to win a World Series title that was not also won by either of its divisional rivals, the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox since 1967.

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in New York City. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division, and are one of two major league clubs based in New York City, the other being the National League’s (NL) 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, renaming the club the New York Highlanders. The Highlanders were officially renamed the Yankees in 1913.

National League

The Los Angeles Dodgers have clinched the National League’s top seed with a win over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. They’ll host the Wild Card Game on Wednesday, October 3. The Dodgers are joined by the Atlanta Braves, who secured the No. 2 seed with a win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks, often shortened as the D-backs, are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division.

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division, where they are the defending World Series champions. The team plays its home games at Wrigley Field, located on the city’s North Side. The Cubs are one of two major league teams in Chicago; the other, the Chicago White Sox, is a member of the American League (AL) Central division.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team that competes in Major League Baseball (MLB). They are based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers franchise was originally founded as the Brooklyn Atlantics in 1884, became the Brooklyn Dodgerswhen the team joined the American Association in 1884, and officially became the Los Angeles Dodgers when they moved to their current city in 1958. The team’s name derives from the city’s iconic Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers have won seven World Series titles and 23 National League (NL) pennants. They are one of only two MLB teams to have never lost a World Series appearance (the other is the Tampa Bay Rays). They played in Super Bowl XLVIII, losing to the eventual champion, the New England Patriots, by a score of 28–24.

Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the National League East division in Major League Baseball (MLB). From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadium; since 2008 their home ballpark has been Nationals Park. The Nationals are the eighth major league franchise to be based in Washington, D.C., and the first since 1971. The current universe of Major League Baseball includes 30 teams, with 15 teams in each league. Each league is split into three divisions: East, Central, and West. The Nationals play in the Eastern Division along with the Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Tampa Bay Rays.