This is a list of division champions (since 1969) and wild-card winners (since 1994) in Major League Baseball.
indicates the winner of the World Series.
† Due to the strike that took place in the middle of the 1981 season, Major League Baseball crowned both a "first half" (pre-strike) and "second half" (post-strike) division champion. The teams were then matched against each other in a special division series. Oakland and New York won the 1981 American League Division Series while Los Angeles and Montreal won the 1981 National League Division Series. [1]
indicates the winner of the World Series.
† For the 2020 season, the postseason consisted of eight teams per league; the top two teams in each division and two wild card teams from among the remaining teams.
| Year | AL #1 | AL #2 | AL #3 | NL #1 | NL #2 | NL #3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Toronto | Seattle | Tampa Bay | New York | San Diego | Philadelphia |
| 2023 | Tampa Bay | Texas | Toronto | Philadelphia | Miami | Arizona |
| 2024 | Baltimore | Kansas City | Detroit | San Diego | Atlanta | New York |
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.
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 American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American 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-off.
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 Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball postseason. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League.
The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before the start of the 1969 season along with the American League West. Before that time, each league consisted of 10 teams without any divisions.
The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams currently only reside along the west coast and in Texas, historically the division has had teams as far east as Chicago and Minnesota. From 1998 to 2012, the AL West was the only MLB division with four teams.
The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central, it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title.
The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created for the 1969 season when the National League (NL) expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a regular-season of 162 games, half of the teams were put into the new East Division and half into the new West Division. Within each division, the teams played 18 games each against their five division mates, and also 12 games against the teams in the opposite division, totaling 162 games. Prior to 1969, the National League had informal, internal divisions strictly for scheduling purposes.
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the wild card teams are the three teams in each of the two leagues that qualify for the postseason despite failing to win their division; the three wild card teams in each league possess the three best winning percentages in their league after the league's three division winners. The wild card was first instituted in MLB in 1994 after the playoff was expanded from 4 teams to 8 teams and MLB divisions were realigned to feature 3 divisions in each league instead of 2, which meant that one non-division winner per league made the playoff and would face a division winner in the first round Division Series.
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.
