Today, Major League Baseball has 30 teams--16 in the National League and 14 in the American League--and each team plays 162 regular-season games. To determine the best team overall, the two league champions compete in the World Series, as they have done since 1903. Until 1969, the World Series matched the teams that had the best regular-season records in the NL and the AL. However, the growing number of teams in MLB led to the development of a playoff system for determining the World Series participants. First, the League Championship Series was introduced in 1969, when the American and National Leagues each split into the East and West divisions. Then, in 1995, the Division Series was introduced to accommodate the Central Division that had been added to each league.
Division Champions
The team with the highest winning percentage from the regular season in each of the East, Central and West divisions in both the American and National Leagues is the division champion and guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. If two teams in the same division have the same winning percentage, and that percentage is higher than the highest winning percentage of a non-division champion in that league, the team with the higher winning percentage of the two when they faced off against each another in the regular season is declared the champion. If their tied winning percentage is lower than that of one of the second-place teams in the divisions in their league, the two teams compete in a single playoff game after the end of the regular season, and the winner of that game advances.
Wild Card Teams
After the division champions have been decided, the remaining team with the highest winning percentage from each league is the wild card team. In the event of a tie between two teams for the wild card slot, those teams will also participate in a one-game playoff to determine which team advances.
Division Series
The six division champions and two wild card teams compete in the Division Series. In each league, the champions are ranked first to third from highest to lowest winning percentage, and the wild-card team is automatically ranked fourth, regardless of win percentage. The first- and fourth-ranked teams and second- and third-ranked teams in each league compete in a best-of-five-games playoff. In each series, the division champion with the highest winning percentage gets the home-field advantage, with games 1, 2 and, if necessary, 5 played at its stadium, with games 3 and, if necessary, 4 played at the opposing team's field. The first team to win three games in each matchup proceeds to the League Championship Series.
League Championship Series
The two winning American League teams face off against each other in a best-of-seven-games series, as do the two winning National League teams. Once again, the team with the highest winning percentage gains the home-field advantage; however, a division champion playing against a wild card team automatically gains the advantage, even if the wild card team's winning percentage is higher. The first team to win four games in each series is declared the league champion. If the League Championship Series proceeds to seven games, games 1, 2, 6 and 7 are played at the field of the team with the home-field advantage, while games 3 through 5 are played at the stadium of the opposing team.
World Series
The champions of the playoffs from the American and National Leagues compete in the World Series, which is also a best-of-seven competition. The home-field advantage is given to the team whose league won the All-Star Game in that season.
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