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MLB’s postseason field has 12 teams: six from the American League and six from the National League. In each league, the top two division winners receive a first-round bye, while seeds 3 through 6 play a best-of-three Wild Card Series. The bracket then advances through best-of-five Division Series and best-of-seven League Championship Series and World Series.
How teams qualify and are seeded
Each league sends six teams to the postseason: its three division winners and three Wild Card teams. The division winners are seeded 1 through 3 according to regular-season record; the Wild Cards are seeded 4 through 6, also by record. Division winners have seeding priority, so a Wild Card club does not move ahead of a division winner even if it has a better record. Seeds 1 and 2 skip the Wild Card round and enter the Division Series. MLB’s format explainer sets out the current structure.
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How each postseason round works
| Round | Format | Who plays and how teams advance | Home-field rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card Series | Best-of-three | Seeds 3 and 6 play; seeds 4 and 5 play. The winners advance. | The higher seed hosts all games. |
| Division Series | Best-of-five | The No. 1 seed faces the 4/5 series winner; No. 2 faces the 3/6 winner. | The higher seed hosts Games 1 and 2 and, if needed, Game 5, in a 2-2-1 pattern. |
| League Championship Series | Best-of-seven | The two Division Series winners in the same league meet for the league pennant. | The higher remaining seed hosts Games 1 and 2, and Games 6 and 7 if needed. |
| World Series | Best-of-seven | The American League and National League pennant winners meet for the championship. | The pennant winner with the better regular-season record hosts Games 1 and 2, and Games 6 and 7 if needed. |
Wild Card Series: the opening round
There are two best-of-three series in each league: No. 3 hosts No. 6, and No. 4 hosts No. 5. Every game is played at the higher seed’s ballpark, so a lower seed does not host even if the series reaches a third game. A club must win two games to advance; the loser is eliminated. This replaced the former single-game Wild Card format. MLB’s Wild Card history provides background on the round’s evolution.
Division Series: byes enter the bracket
The two division winners with the best records in each league join the Wild Card winners in the best-of-five Division Series. MLB does not reseed the bracket after the Wild Card round: the 3/6 winner goes to No. 2, and the 4/5 winner goes to No. 1. In each series, the higher seed hosts Games 1 and 2 and, if necessary, Game 5; the lower seed hosts Games 3 and 4. MLB’s postseason Q&A explains the round’s schedule and progression.
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League Championship Series and World Series
The two Division Series winners in each league play a best-of-seven League Championship Series. The winner becomes that league’s pennant winner and advances to the best-of-seven World Series. In the LCS, the higher remaining seed hosts Games 1 and 2, then Games 6 and 7 if needed. World Series home field is determined differently: the pennant winner with the better regular-season record hosts Games 1 and 2 and, if needed, Games 6 and 7, regardless of its seed within its league. If the teams’ records are equal, regular-season tiebreaking rules apply. MLB’s format guide describes the home-field rules.
How postseason ties are decided
MLB no longer stages a Game 163 to settle ties that affect postseason qualification or seeding. Under MLB’s 2026 tiebreaker guide, ties are resolved using regular-season results; for a two-team tie, head-to-head record is the first criterion. The change avoids adding a tiebreaker game before the postseason begins.
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Postseason rules that differ from the regular season
- Extra innings: The automatic runner placed on second base at the start of regular-season extra innings is not used in the postseason, according to MLB’s 2026 format explainer.
- Replay challenges: Managers begin each postseason game with two replay challenges, compared with one in the regular season.
- ABS Challenge System: MLB says the system introduced in 2026 uses the same challenge rules as during the regular season.
2026 schedule dates
For season-specific context, MLB’s August 10, 2026 schedule announcement set September 29 as the Wild Card Series start, October 3 for the Division Series, October 11 for the NLCS, October 12 for the ALCS and October 23 for World Series Game 1. MLB noted that the schedule was subject to change. These dates apply to 2026, not to future seasons.
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- PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS: Package contains (1) Game Zone Super Stadium Baseball Game with Realistic Baseball Action. Includes (1) playing field, (1) bat, (1) pitcher, (3) base runners, (7) fielders, (3) score pins, (5) balls, score sheet, and instruction manual. 1 - 2 players, Ages 6 and up.
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