In the Major League Baseball playoffs, what determines which teams play each other in the first round?

Q: Can't figure out if it's just the wildcard plays the best record, or if its totally decided by each team's record, or if they even want to avoid inner-divion matchups(like AL East vs AL East or NL west vs. NL West, etc..) or anything like that. DOes anyone know?

A: If the Wild card team and team with the best record are NOT in the same division: Wild Card vs. best division dinner 3rd best division winner vs. 2nd best division winner. If the Wild card team and team with the best record ARE in the same division: Wild Card vs. 2nd best division dinner 3rd best division winner vs. best division winner. For instance, if this year finishes like so: East: Mets (91-71) Central: Cubs (98-64) West: Dodgers (86-76) Wild Card: Brewers (90-72) The playoff match ups would be Mets/Brewers and Cubs/Dodgers. But if, say the Phillies won the Wild Card instead of the Brewers, the match ups would be Phillies/Cubs and Mets/Dodgers.

Related items