how do mlb teams make it to the playoffs
Major League Baseball postseason The Major League Baseball postseason is an elimination tournament held after the conclusion of the MLB regular season. As of 2012, the playoffs for each league—American and National—consist of a one-game wild-card playoff between two wild card teams, two best-of-five Division Series (LDS) featuring the wild-card winner and the winner of each division, and finally the best-of-seven League Championship Series (LCS). The winners of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and the National League Championship Series (NLCS) play each other in the best-of-seven World Series.
World Series Despite its name, the World Series remains solely the championship of the major-league baseball teams in the United States and Canada, although MLB, its players, and North American media sometimes informally refer to World Series winners as "world champions of baseball".[49]
Major League Baseball wild card In Major League Baseball (MLB), the wild card teams are the two teams in each of the two leagues (American and National) that have qualified for the postseason despite failing to win their division. Both teams in each league possess the two best winning percentages in their respective league after the three division winners. The wild card was first instituted in MLB in 1994, with one wild-card team per league advancing to the Division Series in the postseason to face a division winner. In 2012, the system was modified to add a second wild-card team per league and put each league's wild-card teams against each other in a play-in game—the MLB Wild Card Game—the winner of which would then advance to the Division Series and play the team with the best record. This system ensures that the team with the second-best record in each league, after the three division winners and the team with the first-best record in the league that is a non-division winner, will also get a postseason berth, even if it isn't a division champion.
Major League Baseball wild card In Major League Baseball (MLB), the wild card teams are the two teams in each of the two leagues (American and National) that have qualified for the postseason despite failing to win their division. Both teams in each league possess the two best winning percentages in their respective league after the three division winners. The wild card was first instituted in MLB in 1994, with one wild-card team per league advancing to the Division Series in the postseason to face a division winner. In 2012, the system was modified to add a second wild-card team per league and pit each league's wild-card teams against each other in a play-in game—the MLB wild-card game—the winner of which would then advance to the Division Series and play the team with the best record. This system ensures that the team with the second-best record in each league, after the three division winners and the team with the first-best record in the league that is a non-division winner, will also get a postseason berth, even if it isn't a division champion.