The pressure is on: Padres, Angels, Mets, Blue JaysĪ year ago, it was all Dodgers and Padres. The rivalries would surely create some high drama, as they did in last year’s AL wild-card game and division series.īut outside of Toronto, this wouldn’t exactly bring the fresh batch of postseason faces that many fans are hoping to see in the expanded field.īen Verlander takes a look at the top American League East storylines, including the New York Yankees' big lineup, the new-look Toronto Blue Jays, Wander Franco and more. If some variation of this ends up happening, I won’t be stunned, and it would undeniably be entertaining. This is hardly unrealistic, as that’s exactly what would have happened a year ago under this format, and each of these teams appears geared up for 2022. One of the most common refrains in the early processing of the expanded postseason field has been the notion that the AL East could fill all three American League wild-card spots. The AL East: Blue Jays, Yankees, Red Sox, Rays Using FanGraphs’ most recent playoff odds as a rough guide, I’ve grouped teams into several tiers related to how the expanded postseason will impact expectations for their 2022 campaigns. You just want to get in then it’s often about which team gets hot at the right time. It’s now a little bit easier for these clubs to gain entry into a tournament that, as we've seen numerous times over the past decade, is as much a crapshoot as any postseason in North American sports. The expanded postseason is intended to increase competition and opportunity for the teams in the tiers just below the behemoths we’ve grown accustomed to seeing every October. Indeed, a failure by any of those teams to reach October will be all the more deserving of criticism.īut let’s set those teams aside - this isn’t about them. The new structure will also have a dramatic effect on the narratives surrounding several teams.įirst of all, more teams in the postseason implies that the teams already expected to make the postseason - the Dodgers, Astros, Yankees and Braves, for example - should have even more wiggle room to do exactly that. The higher seeds host all three games, so there is significant incentive for teams competing for these spots to win every possible game in the regular season, even if the division crown is out of reach.Ĭlearly, this format will mean more than just two additional teams in the postseason. 5 seed (non-division winner with the second-best record) in the other wild-card series. 4 seed (non-division winner with the best record) will host the No. 3 seed - the division winner with the third-best record - will compete in the wild-card round against the newly introduced No. The top two seeds in each league – the two division winners with the best records - will receive a bye and forgo the wild-card round. Rather than a single, win-or-go-home wild-card game between the two best non-division winners (aka wild cards) in each league, we will have a wild-card round featuring two best-of-three series. Granted, the bulk of the on-field rule changes won’t be implemented at the big-league level until 2023, but along with the universal DH, the 12-team postseason will change the way baseball functions in 2022. Game 7*: Sunday, Oct.Amid the excitement of the lockout being lifted, it was easy to overlook the finer details of the CBA in favor of simply being ecstatic that baseball was back.īut the new agreement consists of several important changes to what MLB will look like in the coming seasons, beyond just the financial infrastructure of the sport. The 2021 World Series, which will be exclusively televised by Fox, begins on Tuesday, Oct. The NLCS features off days after Game 2, and if necessary, between Games 5 and 6 as well. Meanwhile, the NLCS begins the following day. Game 1 of the AL Championship Series is set for Friday, Oct. There will be at least one ALDS or NLDS game played each day until teams advance. Game 1 of each NL Division Series are set for Friday, Oct. Once the Wild Card Games are completed, the 2021 MLB postseason will continue in full earnest with the both AL Division Series beginning on Thursday, Oct. Whichever club doesn’t win the NL West figures to host the Wild Card Game. The Dodgers’ reign over the NL West trails only the Atlanta Braves (14) and New York Yankees (nine) for most consecutive division titles since 1969. ![]() The teams have a final series during the regular season when they meet at Oracle Park from Sept. While the Dodgers have won the NL West in eight consecutive seasons, their streak is in danger of being snapped this year as the San Francisco Giants remain in first place of the division. Potentially of more interest to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the National League Wild Card Game will be played Wednesday, Oct. The complete 2021 MLB postseason schedule has been set, beginning with the American League Wild Card Game on Tuesday, Oct.
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