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 two teams with the best records in each league, after the three division winners, will also get postseason berths.

Part of a series on the
Major League Baseball postseason
Wild Card
  • ALWCG
  • NLWCG
Division Series
League Championship Series
World Series
Teams

One wild card per league (1994–2011)

From 1969 through 1993, division leaders in each league advanced to the League Championship Series, with the winners of each LCS meeting in the World Series. However, an expanding number of teams over the years made making the playoffs increasingly difficult. The new system was instituted in 1994 (but first used in 1995 because a players strike canceled the 1994 playoffs) when Major League Baseball expanded from two to three divisions per league. In the new three-division leagues, each league had four teams in the playoffs. In addition to the three division winners, a wild-card team made the playoffs as the fourth seed. This was the team with the most wins amongst non-division winners. The wild-card matchup was played in the first round between the League leader in wins and the wild-card team, unless both teams were in the same division, which resulted in the wild card facing the second-best division winner in the league.

Historic anomalies

A "wild card" rule was used in the 1981 season after a players' strike wiped out the "middle third" of the season. The owners decided that the winners (in each division) of either "half" of the abbreviated season would make playoffs, with the caveat that if the same team won both halves then the team from the division with the second-best record from the second half would enter the playoffs as a wild card. However, the wild-card rule was not actually used since all four divisions had different first half and second-half winners. As a result of the hastily contrived format, the Cincinnati Reds finished the regular season with the best record in all of baseball (66-42 .611) but failed to qualify for the playoffs because they finished 0.5 game behind the Dodgers in the first half and 1.5 games behind the Astros in the second half. The Astros finished 8 games back in the first half and the Dodgers 6 back in the second.

Two wild cards per league (2012–present)
Further information: Major League Baseball Wild Card Game

On November 17, 2011, MLB announced that it would be adding two wild-card teams to the postseason.[1] The two wild-card teams in each league face each other in a one-game playoff. The winner of this game advances to meet the top seed in the Division Series. The revised playoff system began with the 2012 season.[2]

Wild-card winners by year and by most wild-card titles

For each league's list of wild-card winners by year and teams with most wild-card titles, see:

Combined postseason series record as wild-card winners
Wild-card team Series record* World Series wins Playoff losses
Arizona Diamondbacks 1–1 2017 NLDS
Atlanta Braves 0–2 2010 NLDS, 2012 NLWC
Baltimore Orioles 2–3 1996 ALCS, 2012 ALDS, 2016 ALWC
Boston Red Sox 6–6 2004 World Series 1998 ALDS, 1999 ALCS, 2003 ALCS, 2005 ALDS, 2008 ALCS, 2009 ALDS
Chicago Cubs 2–3 1998 NLDS, 2015 NLCS, 2018 NLWC
Cincinnati Reds 0–1 2013 NLWC
Cleveland Indians 0–1 2013 ALWC
Colorado Rockies 3–5 1995 NLDS, 2007 World Series, 2009 NLDS, 2017 NLWC, 2018 NLDS
Detroit Tigers 2–1 2006 World Series
Houston Astros 4–3 2004 NLCS, 2005 World Series, 2015 ALDS
Kansas City Royals 3–1 2014 World Series
Los Angeles Angels 3–0 2002 World Series
Los Angeles Dodgers 0–2 1996 NLDS, 2006 NLDS
Miami Marlins 6–0 1997 World Series, 2003 World Series
Milwaukee Brewers 0–2 2008 NLDS, 2019 NLWC
Minnesota Twins 0–1 2017 ALWC
New York Mets 3–3 1999 NLCS, 2000 World Series, 2016 NLWC
New York Yankees 4–7 1995 ALDS, 1997 ALDS, 2007 ALDS, 2010 ALCS, 2015 ALWC, 2017 ALCS, 2018 ALDS
Oakland Athletics 0–4 2001 ALDS, 2014 ALWC, 2018 ALWC, 2019 ALWC
Pittsburgh Pirates 1–3 2013 NLDS, 2014 NLWC, 2015 NLWC
San Francisco Giants 6–2 2014 World Series 2002 World Series, 2016 NLDS
Seattle Mariners 1–1 2000 ALCS
St. Louis Cardinals 5–2 2011 World Series 2001 NLDS, 2012 NLCS
Tampa Bay Rays 2–3 2011 ALDS, 2013 ALDS, 2019 ALDS
Texas Rangers 0–1 2012 ALWC
Toronto Blue Jays 2–1 2016 ALCS
Washington Nationals 4–0 2019 World Series

(*) – Counts one-game wild-card playoff in the statistics.

Notable wild-card team achievements
  • The following wild-card teams have won the World Series: the Florida Marlins, in 1997 and 2003; the Anaheim Angels, in 2002; the Boston Red Sox, in 2004; the St. Louis Cardinals, in 2011; the San Francisco Giants, in 2014; and the Washington Nationals, in 2019. Thus, three consecutive titles, from 2002 to 2004, were won by a wild card.
  • A wild-card team appeared in the World Series each year from 2002 to 2007.
  • So far, the 2002 World Series and the 2014 World Series have been the only times when both teams were wild cards.
  • The Baltimore Orioles, in 1996, were the first wild-card team to win a Division Series.
  • The Marlins, in 1997, were the first wild-card team to reach the World Series and the first to win the World Series. By winning again in 2003, they became the first team to win the World Series twice as a wild card. The Marlins are also the only team to win the World Series without ever winning a division title.
  • The Red Sox and New York Yankees have been a wild card seven times. The Colorado Rockies have been a wild card five times. The Oakland Athletics have been a wild card four times, while the St. Louis Cardinals, the Houston Astros, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Orioles, the New York Mets, the Giants, the Chicago Cubs, and the Tampa Bay Rays have been a wild card three times each.
  • The Houston Astros were the first team to have won a wild card in different leagues. NL (2004-2005) and AL (2015)
  • The following teams have qualified as a wild card in consecutive years: the Red Sox (1998-1999, 2003-2005, 2008-2009), the Astros (2004-2005), the Mets (1999-2000), the Cardinals (2011-2012), the Pirates (2013-2015), the Yankees (2017−2018), the Rockies (2017−2018), and the Athletics (2018−2019).
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See also

Footnotes
  1. Lacques,Gabe (2010-11-17). "MLB adds 2 wild cards, moves Astros to AL". USA Today. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
  2. Bloom, Barry M. (March 2, 2012). "Addition of Wild Card berths finalized for 2012". MLB.com. MLB.com.
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