How Many Teams Make the MLB Playoffs

From wild cards to the World Series! Discover how MLB playoffs work and how many teams make it to the postseason action.

MLB stands for Major League Baseball, one of the oldest and most popular sports leagues in the US. Baseball has around 70 million fans in the US but is also highly popular worldwide, especially in countries like Canada, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, etc.

In the US, baseball is among the top three sports by popularity. The only other sports that are as popular as baseball are Basketball and Football. Major League Baseball, of course, is the top-tier competition in the country where professionals compete for the baseball World Series title.

If you want to know more about baseball, how many teams compete, what the competition format is, and how do MLB playoffs work, you’re at the right place. In this article, we cover all these topics, focusing on the MLB playoffs in particular. Keep reading and learn more about it.

Who Competes in the MLB?

The MLB consists of 30 teams. Eaf them plays 162 games during the regular—ason – 81 games at home and 81 games on the road. The first baseball matches were played around 1750, but the league as wit e know was founded in 1903 when the American League and the National League merged to battle for the World Series champion.

Today, more than 120 years later, the league went through a lot of changes, but it is still the same sport. Baseball lovers still enjoy the same game with the same rules, with a few differences, mainly in the post-season format. So, how is the league created?

As mentioned, Major League Baseball teams are separated into two groups – the National League and the American League. Here’s the list of teams:

American League (AL)

AL East

  • Baltimore Orioles
  • Boston Red Sox
  • New York Yankees
  • Tampa Bay Rays
  • Toronto Blue Jays

AL Central

  • Chicago White Sox
  • Cleveland Indians (now Cleveland Guardians)
  • Detroit Tigers
  • Kansas City Royals
  • Minnesota Twins

AL West

  • Houston Astros
  • Los Angeles Angels
  • Oakland Athletics
  • Seattle Mariners
  • Texas Rangers

National League (NL)

NL East

  • Atlanta Braves
  • Miami Marlins
  • New York Mets
  • Philadelphia Phillies
  • Washington Nationals

NL Central

  • Chicago Cubs
  • Cincinnati Reds
  • Milwaukee Brewers
  • Pittsburgh Pirates
  • St. Louis Cardinals

NL West

  • Arizona Diamondbacks
  • Colorado Rockies
  • Los Angeles Dodgers
  • San Diego Padres
  • San Francisco Giants

After the regular season is finished, six teams are eligible to continue into the playoffs. Each division winner, and two wild-card winners per league, plus one final spot. These 12 teams create the playoff bracket, and the best ones meet in the World Series final and battle for the title in a best-of-seven series.

How Does the MLB Wild Card Work?

Although the MLB wild card system seems simple, there are still some things worth mentioning, especially after the 2022 changes. The first thing to know is that – the two teams with the best record in the regular season who didn’t win the division title get a wild-card spot. They go directly to the playoffs.

The last spot is reserved for one of the next two teams that had the third and fourth best record in the league. They will play a three-game series to determine who is better and earn the final, sixth spot in the playoff bracket. So, how many MLB teams make the playoffs? The answer is – six per league or 12 in total.

When the regular season is finished, the best two records in the league get a so-called bye in the first round, also known as the wild card round. They will meet their opponents directly in the second round. This is a significant advantage as they get more rest than everyone else and avoid the risk of being surprisingly eliminated sooner by a lower-ranking team.

How many games are in the MLB playoffs?

After the wild card round, which is played in a best-of-three format, comes the Division Series, which is a playoff round that is played in a best-of-five format. The first team that wins three games advances to the league’s final round – the League Championship Series, which is played in a best-of-seven format.

The winner of the American League gets to meet the winner of the National League in the World Series, which is also played in a best-of-seven games format. This means the maximum number of games a team can play in a season is 184. However, there’s a low chance for this to happen.

Conclusion

Baseball is a sport that is a truly American heritage. It is played not only on baseball fields but in the streets, parks, and schools across the country. The MLB is the highest rank of competition and by far the best in the world. If you’re interested in baseball, now you know how the league works, how the playoffs run, and which teams compete for the World Series title.