League Championship Series

Last updated

The League Championship Series (LCS) is the semifinal round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969. In 1981, and since 1995, the two annual series have matched up the winners of the Division Series, and the winners advance to meet in the World Series. The LCS comprises the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and National League Championship Series (NLCS).

Contents

NLCS 2008.jpg
2022ALCSshot.png
Photos showing the two LCS in pregame preparations (left: NLCS, 2008 and right: ALCS, 2022)

History

The League Championship Series was created in 1969, when both the National League and the American League increased in size from ten teams to twelve with the addition, via expansion, of the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres to the former and the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots (now the Milwaukee Brewers of the NL) to the latter. Both leagues then formed Eastern and Western Divisions, the first-place teams from which faced off in the LCS.

For its first sixteen seasons, the League Championship Series were best-of-five, using the 2–3 format in which the team without home field advantage hosted the first two games, and the team with it hosted the rest of the LCS, making it impossible for the disadvantaged team to win the series at home. It also allowed those teams the unusual luxury of starting a series at home, possibly having home-field advantage in a three-game series, and a guarantee that they play two games at home.

In 1985, [1] [2] the LCS was lengthened to best-of-seven games in the 2–3–2 format with the team holding home-field advantage opening the series at home and playing the next three games on the road, before returning home for two more possible games. The disadvantaged team would have had more games played at home than on the road if the series ends in five games.

Since 1995, the LCS has matched up the winners of the Division Series, which were added when both leagues realigned into three divisions.

Until 1998, the home-field advantage in the LCS was allocated on a rotating basis between the two (three from 1995 through 1997) division champions; since 1998, that advantage is given to the team with the better regular season record, except that if a division champion faces a wild card team, the division champion always gets home-field advantage regardless of record.

As of 2024, all thirty MLB teams have reached the LCS at least once. The Houston Astros and Milwaukee Brewers are the only teams to have played in both the ALCS and NLCS. [3] Four teams have never lost an LCS: the Colorado Rockies (won in 2007), the Miami Marlins (won as the Florida Marlins in 1997 and 2003), the Tampa Bay Rays (won in 2008 and 2020), and the Texas Rangers (won in 2010, 2011, and 2023).

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National League Championship Series</span> MLB series to determine which team will represent the National League in the World Series

The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National League (NL) Division Series. The winner of the NLCS wins the NL pennant and advances to the World Series, MLB's championship series, to play the winner of the American League's (AL) Championship Series. The NLCS began in 1969 as a best-of-five playoff and used this format until 1985, when it changed to a best-of-seven format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American League Championship Series</span> Major League Baseball series

The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. The winner of the ALCS wins the AL pennant and advances to the World Series, MLB's championship series, to play the winner of the National League's (NL) Championship Series. The ALCS began in 1969 as a best-of-five playoff and used this format until 1985, when it changed to its current best-of-seven format.

In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring each of the two division winners with the best records and the winners of the wild-card play-offs.

The Brewers–Cubs rivalry is a Major League Baseball (MLB) rivalry between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs. Both clubs are members of MLB's National League (NL) Central Division. The rivalry is also sometimes known as the I-94 Rivalry, because the two teams' ballparks are located only 83 miles (134 km) from each other off Interstate 94 (I-94).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 American League Championship Series</span> 37th edition of Major League Baseballs American League Championship Series

The 2006 American League Championship Series (ALCS), the second round of the 2006 American League playoffs, began on October 10 and ended on October 14. The wild card Detroit Tigers swept the West Division champion Oakland Athletics 4 games to none to advance to the 2006 World Series, and became the fourth AL team to win 10 pennants, joining the New York Yankees (39), the Athletics (15), and the Boston Red Sox (11). Magglio Ordóñez's game-winning walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 4 sealed the pennant for the Tigers. This ALCS marked the 5th different AL pennant winner in as many years.

The Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason is the annual playoff elimination tournament held to determine the champion of MLB in the United States and Canada. Since 2022, the postseason for each league—American and National—consists of two best-of-three Wild Card Series contested by the lowest-seeded division winner and the three wild card teams, two best-of-five Division Series (LDS) featuring the wild-card winners and the two highest-seeded division winners, 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. Under this system, the postseason comprises 32 to 53 games. The postseason tournament takes place after the conclusion of MLB's regular season and takes approximately one month to complete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 National League Championship Series</span> Baseball championship series

The 2011 National League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff pitting the winners of the 2011 National League Division Series, the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers, against each other for the National League championship and the right to be the league's representative in the 2011 World Series. The series was the 42nd NLCS in league history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 World Series</span> 108th edition of Major League Baseballs championship series

The 2012 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2012 season. The 108th edition of the World Series, the series was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion San Francisco Giants and the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers; the Giants won in a four-game sweep. This marked the Giants' seventh World Series title in franchise history, their second in San Francisco, and their second in a three-year period (2010–2012). Their World Series sweep was the first by an NL team since the Cincinnati Reds swept the Oakland Athletics in the 1990 series and the first NL sweep not by the Reds since 1963, when the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the New York Yankees. This was also the first World Series since 1988 to feature both of that year's League MVPs. The Giants' Pablo Sandoval, who in Game 1 tied a record by hitting three home runs in one World Series game — two off Tigers' ace pitcher Justin Verlander — was named the World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 National League Championship Series</span> Baseball championship series

The 2018 National League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff pitting the Milwaukee Brewers against the Los Angeles Dodgers, for the National League (NL) pennant and the right to play in the 2018 World Series against the AL Champions, the Boston Red Sox.

The 2018 National League Central tie-breaker game was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2018 regular season, played between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs to determine the champion of the National League's (NL) Central Division. It was played at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois on October 1, 2018.

The 2018 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2018 season. The winners of the Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 National League Division Series</span> American baseball games

The 2021 National League Division Series were two best-of-five-games series in Major League Baseball (MLB) to determine the participating teams of the 2021 National League Championship Series. The three divisional winners, seeded first through third, and a fourth team — determined by the NL Wild Card Game — played in two series. These matchups were:

The 1981 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 1981 season. The season had a players' strike, which lasted from June 12 to July 31, and split the season into two halves. Teams that won their division in each half of the season advanced to the playoffs. Teams faced each other in a League Division Series for the first time, a round of the postseason that did not return until 1995, where it became a permanent addition. The winners of the LDS moved on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.

The 1982 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 1982 season. The winners of each division advance to the postseason and face each other in a League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.

The 2003 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2003 season. The winners of the League Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series. This was the first edition of the postseason where home-field advantage in the World Series was awarded to the league who won the MLB All-Star Game, a rule which lasted until 2016.

The 2020 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2020 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league played only a 60-game season, and an expanded 16-team postseason tournament began on September 29, with games of all but the first round being played at neutral sites. A new best-of-three Wild Card series was added as the opening round of this postseason due to the shortened season caused by the pandemic; it would become a permanent addition to the postseason format starting in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Major League Baseball postseason</span> 2021 Major League Baseball playoffs

The 2021 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 2021 season. The winners of the Division Series advanced to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series. After the 2020 postseason, MLB returned to a 10-team playoff format following the loosening of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. This was the last postseason to feature the 10-team format, as the league expanded to a 12 team-format for the 2022 postseason.

The 2023 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 2023 season. The winners of the Wild Card Series faced the two best division winners (seeds) in each league in the Division Series, and the victors advanced to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners who played each other in the World Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 National League Wild Card Series</span>

The 2023 National League Wild Card Series were the two best-of-three playoff series in Major League Baseball (MLB) to determine the participating teams of the 2023 National League Division Series (NLDS). Both Wild Card Series began on October 3, with Game 2s scheduled for October 4. ESPN broadcast both Wild Card Series in the United States together with ESPN Radio.

References

  1. ↑ "Owners propose best-of-7 league playoffs". Times Daily. (Florence, Alabama). Associated Press. March 22, 1985. p. 4B.
  2. ↑ "League playoffs expand to seven games". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). staff and wire reports. April 4, 1985. p. C2.
  3. ↑ "Team Batting Game Finder:In the LCS Game 1, From 1903 to 2018, Team Won, sorted by most recent date". Baseball Reference. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.