Wild Card Series

This article is about Major League Baseball's Wild Card Game contested from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021, and Wild Card Series contested in 2020 and since 2022. For all MLB teams that qualified for the postseason as wild cards, see List of American League Wild Card winners and List of National League Wild Card winners.

"Wild Card Game" and "Wild Card Playoff" redirect here. For other uses, see Wild card (disambiguation).

The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason. A single wild card game was instituted in 2012. This became a best-of-three playoff wild card series in 2020 as a one-off, and became permanent (albeit with fewer teams playing than in the 2020 series) for the 2022 season. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

There are two wild card series each, in the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The lowest-seeded division winner and three wild card teams in each league play in a best-of-three series after the end of the regular season. The winners of each league's wild card rounds advance to face the two-best division winners in that league's Division Series. This expansion of the postseason abolished any regular-season-extending tie-breaker games.

Format

Under the format adopted in 2022, six teams in each league are assigned seeds for the postseason. In each league, the three division winners are seeded #1–3, per their relative winning percentages. The worst division winner is automatically given the No. 3 seed even if one or all other wild-card teams has a better record. ^{[4] [5]} Also in each league, the three teams with the best winning percentages among non-division winning teams are wild cards, seeded #4–6, per their relative winning percentages. Any ties are broken using a set of MLB tie-breaking procedures; as such, no tie-breaking games (colloquially known as "Game 163") are contested.

The top two division winners in each league receive first-round byes to the Division Series. The remaining four teams, seeds No. 3 through No. 6, play in two best-of-3 wild card series, with the higher seed hosting all games. These two series are: No. 3 hosting No. 6, and No. 4 hosting No. 5.

In the Division Series, the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 series faces the No. 1 seed, and the winner of the No. 3. vs. No. 6 series faces the No. 2 seed. The bracket structure in each league looks as follows:

	Wild Card Series Best-of-3					Division Series Best-of-5					League Championship Series Best-of-7
						1	Best division winner
	4	Wild Card team #1
	5	Wild Card team #2
						2	Second-best division winner
	3	Worst-division winner
	6	Wild Card team #3

History

The Wild Card round was initially introduced in 2012 as a single-game playoff between two wild-card teams in each league, with the winner advancing to the Division Series. With the adoption of MLB's new collective bargaining agreement in November 2011, baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced that a new playoff system would begin within the next two years; the change was ultimately put into place in 2012. ^[6] This format was used through the 2019 season.

For the 2020 postseason, following a shortened 60-game regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MLB held a one-off Wild Card Series with eight teams in each league, thus a total of 16 playoff teams. Division champions were seeded 1–3 by record, the second-place teams seeded 4–6 by record, and the two teams with the next-best records were seeded seventh and eighth. ^[7] Matchups were contested as best-of-three series rather than individual games. MLB returned to the previous format of one Wild Card Game per league for the 2021 postseason, before it changed to two best-of-three Wild Card series per league the next year.

As of the beginning of the 2023 postseason, 28 of the 30 MLB franchises have reached the Wild Card round of the postseason (either a Wild Card Game or the Wild Card Series). The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays each have the most appearances with five, and have the most wins during the Wild Card round with three each. The Milwaukee Brewers, the Oakland Athletics, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Toronto Blue Jays each have the most losses during the Wild Card round, with three each.

The 2014 San Francisco Giants won the National League Wild Card Game and went on to win that season's World Series.

Analysis

Through the 2021 postseason, Wild Card Game winners have gone on to compile an overall 9–9 record in League Division Series, with Wild Card Game winners going 4–5 in the ALDS and 5–4 in the NLDS. Two Wild Card Game winners have gone on to win the World Series (the 2014 Giants and the 2019 Nationals). The 2014 postseason featured the first series sweeps involving a Wild Card Game winner; both in favor of the AL Wild Card Kansas City Royals, who swept the Los Angeles Angels in the ALDS and the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS. The Royals then met the San Francisco Giants in the 2014 World Series, the second all-Wild Card fall classic, which the Giants won in seven games. The first all-Wild Card World Series had also involved the Giants, who lost the 2002 World Series to the then-Anaheim Angels in seven games.

In the sixteen games played since the new Wild Card system began in 2012, five have been shutouts. In eight of the eleven others, the losing team scored three or fewer runs. There have only been two games in which the losing team scored more than six runs: the 2017 NL Wild Card Game in which the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Colorado Rockies by a score of 11–8; and the 2014 AL Wild Card Game which featured the Kansas City Royals beating the Oakland Athletics 9–8 in 12 innings. The margin of victory has been four runs or more in eight of the sixteen games played. Only three games have been decided by exactly one run: the 2014 Royals-Athletics game, the 2018 Rockies-Cubs game, and the 2019 Nationals-Brewers game.

Results

Through the 2021 postseason, visiting teams and home teams have each won nine of the 18 games played. There have been five shutouts, each of which has been won by the visiting team, including three consecutive shutouts in the 2014–2016 NL editions. Two of the three extra innings games have been won by the home team. Three games have ended in walk-off victory for the home team, with the 2021 NL edition being the only one in regulation.

Key

bold	Wild Card Game winner
↓	Lost tie-breaker game to reach Wild Card Game (arrow links to game)
↑	Won tie-breaker game to reach Wild Card Game (arrow links to game)
	Reached League Championship Series
	Reached World Series
	Won World Series

American League Wild Card Game

Year	Visitor	Manager	Score	Host	Manager
2012	Baltimore Orioles	Buck Showalter	5–1	Texas Rangers	Ron Washington
2013	Tampa Bay Rays ↑	Joe Maddon	4–0	Cleveland Indians	Terry Francona
2014	Oakland Athletics	Bob Melvin	8–9 (12)	Kansas City Royals	Ned Yost
2015	Houston Astros	A. J. Hinch	3–0	New York Yankees	Joe Girardi
2016	Baltimore Orioles	Buck Showalter	2–5 (11)	Toronto Blue Jays	John Gibbons
2017	Minnesota Twins	Paul Molitor	4–8	New York Yankees	Joe Girardi
2018	Oakland Athletics	Bob Melvin	2–7	New York Yankees	Aaron Boone
2019	Tampa Bay Rays	Kevin Cash	5–1	Oakland Athletics	Bob Melvin
2021	New York Yankees	Aaron Boone	2–6	Boston Red Sox	Alex Cora

National League Wild Card Game

Year	Visitor	Manager	Score	Host	Manager
2012	St. Louis Cardinals	Mike Matheny	6–3	Atlanta Braves	Fredi González
2013	Cincinnati Reds	Dusty Baker	2–6	Pittsburgh Pirates	Clint Hurdle
2014	San Francisco Giants	Bruce Bochy	8–0	Pittsburgh Pirates	Clint Hurdle
2015	Chicago Cubs	Joe Maddon	4–0	Pittsburgh Pirates	Clint Hurdle
2016	San Francisco Giants	Bruce Bochy	3–0	New York Mets	Terry Collins
2017	Colorado Rockies	Bud Black	8–11	Arizona Diamondbacks	Torey Lovullo
2018	Colorado Rockies ↓	Bud Black	2–1 (13)	Chicago Cubs ↓	Joe Maddon
2019	Milwaukee Brewers	Craig Counsell	3–4	Washington Nationals	Dave Martinez
2021	St. Louis Cardinals	Mike Shildt	1–3	Los Angeles Dodgers	Dave Roberts

Wild Card Series

After the shortened 60-game regular season of 2020, the first round of the MLB postseason consisted of four Wild Card Series in each league, each series being a best-of-three hosted by the higher seed. Eight teams from each league participated: three division winners, three division runners-up, and two wild card teams (the two remaining teams with the best records, based on winning percentage). Thus, while each league's Wild Card Series featured a total of eight teams, there were still only two wild card qualifiers per league.

Starting in 2022, a modified version of the Wild Card Series was used. However, only three Wild Cards qualify along with the lowest-seeded division winner.

Key

E1 C1 W1	Division winners for East, Central, West
E2 C2 W2	Division runners-up for East, Central, West
WC	Wild card teams
bold	Wild Card Series winner

American League Wild Card Series

Year	Higher seeded team	Manager	Games	Lower seeded team	Manager
2020	Tampa Bay Rays E1	Kevin Cash	2–0	Toronto Blue Jays WC	Charlie Montoyo
	Oakland Athletics W1	Bob Melvin	2–1	Chicago White Sox WC	Rick Renteria
	Minnesota Twins C1	Rocco Baldelli	0–2	Houston Astros W2	Dusty Baker
	Cleveland Indians C2	Sandy Alomar Jr. [lower-alpha 1]	0–2	New York Yankees E2	Aaron Boone
2022	Cleveland Guardians C1	Terry Francona	2–0	Tampa Bay Rays WC	Kevin Cash
	Toronto Blue Jays WC	John Schneider	0–2	Seattle Mariners WC	Scott Servais
2023	Minnesota Twins C1	Rocco Baldelli	2–0	Toronto Blue Jays WC	John Schneider
	Tampa Bay Rays WC	Kevin Cash	0–2	Texas Rangers WC	Bruce Bochy

National League Wild Card Series

Year	Higher seeded team	Manager	Games	Lower seeded team	Manager
2020	Los Angeles Dodgers W1	Dave Roberts	2–0	Milwaukee Brewers WC	Craig Counsell
	Atlanta Braves E1	Brian Snitker	2–0	Cincinnati Reds WC	David Bell
	Chicago Cubs C1	David Ross	0–2	Miami Marlins E2	Don Mattingly
	San Diego Padres W2	Jayce Tingler	2–1	St. Louis Cardinals C2	Mike Shildt
2022	St. Louis Cardinals C1	Oliver Marmol	0–2	Philadelphia Phillies WC	Rob Thomson
	New York Mets WC	Buck Showalter	1–2	San Diego Padres WC	Bob Melvin
2023	Milwaukee Brewers C1	Craig Counsell	0–2	Arizona Diamondbacks WC	Torey Lovullo
	Philadelphia Phillies WC	Rob Thomson	2–0	Miami Marlins WC	Skip Schumaker

Appearances by team

In the sortable tables below, teams are ordered first by number of wins, then by number of appearances, and finally by year of first appearance. These records reflect series outcomes of the 2020 Wild Card Series, not individual games. In the "Season(s)" column, bold years indicate winning appearances.

American League

Apps	Team	Wins	Losses	Win %	Season(s)
5	Tampa Bay Rays	3	2	.600	2013 , 2019 , 2020 , 2022, 2023
5	New York Yankees	3	2	.600	2015, 2017 , 2018 , 2020 , 2021
2	Houston Astros	2	0	1.000	2015 , 2020
4	Oakland Athletics	1	3	.250	2014, 2018, 2019, 2020
4	Toronto Blue Jays	1	3	.333	2016 , 2020, 2022, 2023
3	Cleveland Guardians	1	2	.333	2013, 2020, 2022
3	Minnesota Twins	1	2	.333	2017, 2020, 2023
2	Baltimore Orioles	1	1	.500	2012 , 2016
2	Texas Rangers	1	1	.500	2012, 2023
1	Kansas City Royals	1	0	1.000	2014
1	Boston Red Sox	1	0	1.000	2021
1	Seattle Mariners	1	0	1.000	2022
1	Chicago White Sox	0	1	.000	2020

National League

Apps	Team	Wins	Losses	Win %	Season(s)
2	San Francisco Giants	2	0	1.000	2014 , 2016
2	Arizona Diamondbacks	2	0	1.000	2017 , 2023
2	Los Angeles Dodgers	2	0	1.000	2020 , 2021
2	San Diego Padres	2	0	1.000	2020 , 2022
2	Philadelphia Phillies	2	0	1.000	2022 , 2023
4	St. Louis Cardinals	1	3	.250	2012 , 2020, 2021, 2022
3	Pittsburgh Pirates	1	2	.333	2013 , 2014, 2015
3	Chicago Cubs	1	2	.333	2015 , 2018, 2020
2	Atlanta Braves	1	1	.500	2012, 2020
2	Colorado Rockies	1	1	.500	2017, 2018
2	Miami Marlins	1	1	.500	2020 , 2023
1	Washington Nationals	1	0	1.000	2019
2	Cincinnati Reds	0	2	.000	2013, 2020
2	New York Mets	0	2	.000	2016, 2022
3	Milwaukee Brewers	0	3	.000	2019, 2020, 2023

Game results by team

Updated through the 2023 postseason. These records reflect individual game results of the 2020 Wild Card Series.

Joe Maddon has managed both the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs to Wild Card Game victories.

Team	League	Appearances		Individual games
		Games	Series	Win–loss record	Winning pct.
Arizona Diamondbacks	NL	1	1	3–0	1.000
Atlanta Braves	NL	1	1	2–1	.667
Baltimore Orioles	AL	2	0	1–1	.500
Boston Red Sox	AL	1	0	1–0	1.000
Cincinnati Reds	NL	1	1	0–3	.000
Chicago Cubs	NL	2	1	1–3	.250
Chicago White Sox	AL	0	1	1–2	.333
Cleveland Guardians	AL	1	2	2–3	.400
Colorado Rockies	NL	2	0	1–1	.500
Houston Astros	AL	1	1	3–0	1.000
Kansas City Royals	AL	1	0	1–0	1.000
Los Angeles Dodgers	NL	1	1	3–0	1.000
Miami Marlins	NL	0	2	2–2	.500
Milwaukee Brewers	NL	1	2	0–5	.000
Minnesota Twins	AL	1	2	2–3	.400
New York Mets	NL	1	1	1–3	.250
New York Yankees	AL	4	1	4–2	.667
Oakland Athletics	AL	3	1	2–4	.333
Philadelphia Phillies	NL	0	2	4–0	1.000
Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	3	0	1–2	.333
San Diego Padres	NL	0	2	4–2	.667
San Francisco Giants	NL	2	0	2–0	1.000
Seattle Mariners	AL	0	1	2–0	1.000
St. Louis Cardinals	NL	2	2	2–5	.286
Tampa Bay Rays	AL	2	3	4–4	.500
Texas Rangers	AL	1	1	2–1	.667
Toronto Blue Jays	AL	1	2	1–4	.200
Washington Nationals	NL	1	0	1–0	1.000

The following current MLB teams have not yet appeared in a Wild Card playoff:

American League: Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels

Records

Single team

• Most runs scored: 12, New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians, Game 1 of the 2020 ALWC ^[8]
• Most hits: 17, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Colorado Rockies, 2017 NLWC ^[9]

Both teams

• Most runs scored: 20, St. Louis Cardinals (9) vs. San Diego Padres (11), Game 1 of the 2020 NLWC ^[8]
• Most hits: 30, Colorado Rockies (13) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (17), 2017 NLWC ^[9]

Other

• Largest run differential: 9, New York Yankees (12) vs. Cleveland Indians (3), Game 1 of the 2020 ALWC ^[10]
• Longest game, by time: 297 minutes (4:57), Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cleveland Guardians, Game 2 of the 2022 ALWCS ^[11]
• Longest game, by innings: 15, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cleveland Guardians, Game 2 of the 2022 ALWCS ^[11]

See also

• Baseball portal

• List of Major League Baseball Wild Card Round broadcasters

Notes

1. In 2020, Alomar was designated as Cleveland's interim manager in lieu of Terry Francona who missed the postseason due to health concerns.

References

1. Jayson Stark (March 2, 2012). "The new MLB postseason". ESPN.com.
2. "Everything you need to know about '22 season". MLB.com. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
3. Castrovince, Anthony (October 4, 2022). "Complete history of baseball's postseason formats". mlb.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
4. "MLB playoff picture: Bracket, standings, new format explained with 12-team postseason field set". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
5. "2022 MLB playoffs: New postseason format explained, and why there are no more Game 163 tiebreakers". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
6. Bloom, Barry M. (March 2, 2012). "Addition of Wild Card berths finalized for 2012". MLB.com.
7. "MLB expands playoffs to 16 teams for shortened 2020 season, adds best-of-three Wild Card Series". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
8. "Team Batting Game Finder: In the LWC, from 1995 to 2020, sorted by greatest Runs Scored". stathead.com. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
9. "Team Batting Game Finder: In the LWC, from 1995 to 2020, sorted by greatest Hits". stathead.com. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
10. "Team Batting Game Finder: In the LWC, from 1995 to 2020, sorted by greatest Rdiff". stathead.com. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
11. "2022 American League Wild Card Series (ALWC) Game 2, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cleveland Guardians, October 8, 2022".