Astros Pitcher Justin Verlander (Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The 2022 Major Leagues Baseball playoffs are nearly here, and things will be a bit different than they've been in past years.
The postseason, which is set to kick off on Friday, now features 12 teams, a format that was agreed to as part of the latest collective bargaining agreement. As The Athletic's Skyler Rivera explained last month, there was a negotiation between the MLB and the players union.
"MLB proposed a 14-team playoff but the MLBPA countered with 12," Rivera wrote. "...The players were concerned about allowing too many teams in the playoffs and the league eventually settled on the 12-team setting."
Many aspects of the new format will remain the same—there will still be a wild-card round, divisional series and league championship series en route to the World Series. However, there are some key differences as well. Here, we'll dive into everything you need to know ahead of the wild-card round.
Seeding and Wild-Card Format
Playoff seeding for the new format is fairly straightforward. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in both the American League and the National League will receive a bye through the wild-card round.
The No. 1 seed will be the team with the best league record. The No. 2 seed is the second-best division winner. The last division winner will claim the No. 3 seed, while the 4th-6th seeds will be determined by record alone—using tiebreakers if necessary.
As one might assume, the No. 3 seed will host the No. 6 seed in the wild-card round, with No. 4 and No. 5 also facing off.
In addition to having more teams involved in the wild-card round, the format will be different as well. Instead of single-game wild-card showdowns, the round will feature a best-of-three series. All games in the Wild Card Series will be hosted by the team with the higher seed.
Once a team has notched two wins in the Wild Card Series, it will move on to the Divisional Series.
Divisional Series
There are some changes to the Divisional Series as well. There will be no reseeding in the divisional round, so the No. 1 seed may ultimately face a higher seed than the No. 2 seed does.
The No. 1 seed will face the winner of the 4/5 game to ensure that it doesn't face another division winner—or the team that beat it—until the league championship, should it advance. Theoretically, the No. 2 seed could face the No. 6 seed while the No. 1 seed faces the No. 4 seed.
As for the Divisional Series itself, things should feel pretty familiar. Each of the remaining eight teams will compete in a best-of-five series with a 2-2-1 format—with the higher seed holding the home-field advantage.
For those unfamiliar with the 2-2-1 format, it works like this: The higher seed will host the first two games and the fifth and final game, if necessary. The third and fourth games will be hosted by the lower seed. This ensures that the lower seed will have to win at least one road game to advance.
The American League Championship Series, the National League Championship Series and the World Series will remain the same. They will be best-of-seven series following the 2-3-2 format with the higher seed holding home-field advantage.
Other Postseason Notes
There is one other notable change in addition to those above. Under the new format, there will no longer be tiebreaker games between potential wild-card teams at the end of the season.
Tiebreaks will be determined mathematically, and a full list of tiebreaker criteria can be found at MLB.com.
As a reminder, the team with the best regular-season winning percentage, regardless of postseason seeding, will host the World Series. That change was implemented back in 2017 following a run (2003-16) of home-field advantage going to the league that won the All-Star Game.
Prior to 2003, home-field advantage alternated between the AL and NL champions yearly. The 2020 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays was played at a neutral site (Globe Life Field, home of the Texans Rangers) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As was the case last season, the best remaining team in terms of record will kick off the World Series at home.
2022 MLB Playoffs
American League
1. Houston Astros
2. New York Yankees
3. Cleveland Guardians
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Seattle Mariners
6. Tampa Bay Rays
National League
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Atlanta Braves
3. St. Louis Cardinals
4. New York Mets
5. San Diego Padres
6. Philadelphia Phillies
A full playoff schedule can be found at MLB.com
