Competitions: What is the Super Bowl Equivalent in Baseball?

There probably isn’t a person alive that hasn’t heard of the Super Bowl, but what about other sports?

There probably isn’t a person alive that hasn’t heard of the Super Bowl, but what about other sports? Is there an equivalent to it in soccer? Tennis? What about baseball? Actually, you‘re in luck if you want to know about baseball’s equivalent, because it’s the World Series, and we’re about to talk about it.

What is the World Series?

Following the conclusion of the regular season, the three divisional winners and the WC (wildcard team) from each league (National League and American League) will head to the playoffs. At this point, the four teams from both of these leagues will play two different series to determine the pennant winner. The two league winners will then meet in the ‘World Series’. As a bit of trivia, it is called the World Series, not because it is an international competition, but because the original sponsor of the event was the “Daily World” newspaper.

The First Round

The initial round of the playoffs is called the “Divisional Series”, and it is a best of five competition. These are split over two different venues, and the higher ranked team will be given the home field advantage.

During the first round, the matching will be as so:

  • No #1 Ranked Team Plays No #4 Ranked Team
  • No #2 Ranked Team Plays No #3 Ranked Team

The Second Round

The second round of the game is known as the Championship Series, and this is a best-of-seven. The higher ranked team still has the home field advantage, and as in the first round, the first two games will be played on the home field of the higher-ranking team.

Due to the constant moving about, there is usually a day’s travel in the middle of the season, meaning smaller pitching rotations.

The World Series

The entire point of the playoffs is to enter into the world Series. At the end of the two rounds, the players will be matched up into the Series, playing a best of seven series with the rules based on the park that they are playing in. For example, AL rules apply in AL ballparks and so on. The home field advantage is gained by the team that won the All-Star Game, though this is a matter of great debate and one that we’re not going to get into during this article.

While it might not be the exact same format as the Super Bowl, it is still the game to watch, and it is, without a doubt, one of the baseball’s most amazing spectacles. So, here’s the question: where will you be when the playoffs culminate in the world series?