#PLAYOFF MLB SCHEDULE SERIES#

#PLAYOFF MLB SCHEDULE SERIES#

It remained in place through 2021, but the one-game playoff has been eliminated in favor of three-game series moving forward.

The one-game playoff between the two Wild Card clubs in each league took effect with MLB moving from eight to ten postseason qualifiers back in 2012. With the postseason expansion, the Wild Card game is no more. That’s before accounting for gate and concession revenue for clubs hosting those additional games. Going from 10 to 12 clubs marked a major concession in its own right the introduction of a new round of the postseason is worth a reported $85MM annually for the league under the terms of its broadcasting arrangement with ESPN. Describing that as a loss for the league, which had sought 14 for most of negotiations, wouldn’t be entirely accurate though. Ultimately, the union held firm on the 12-team playoff this time around. The MLBPA was unenthused by the possibility of going to 14 playoff teams, fearing that doing so would disincentivize clubs from ardently upgrading their rosters if they believed they were already comfortable postseason qualifiers.

The union’s push for a “ghost win” seemed more rooted in concerns about a potential 14-team format than with the 12-team arrangement, though. MLB opposed that idea, and it didn’t make it into the final agreement. The Players Association had previously floated the possibility of division winners starting with a one-game advantage in any first-round set against a Wild Card club. The worst division winner will face the final Wild Card qualifier, while the top two Wild Card clubs will take on one another. Travis Sawchik of The Score reports the format ( via Twitter): the top two division winners in each league receive first-round byes, while the worst division winner and the three Wild Card teams per league will play three-game sets to advance to the Division Series. Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022Īs expected, the collective bargaining agreement expanded the postseason field from ten teams to twelve.

Playoff mlb schedule