The calendar has officially flipped to October, which can only mean one thing: It’s time for the MLB playoffs. We’re in the second year of the new 12-team format, meaning more teams than ever will be vying to reach the 119th World Series — and hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy. Here’s everything to know about the rules of October as the 2023 postseason gets underway.
MLB playoff format
In each league, three division winners and three Wild Card teams will make the postseason. The teams will be seeded as such:
No. 1 seed: Best league record
No. 2 seed: Second-best division winner
No. 3 seed: Third-best division winner
No. 4 seed (first Wild Card): Best record among non-division winners
No. 5 seed (second Wild Card): Second-best record among non-division winners
No. 6 seed (third Wild Card): Third-best record among non-division winners
The top two seeds receive a bye and advance directly to the Division Series. The four other teams will face off in the Wild Card round. Each series in this round is a best-of-three, with all games taking place at the home park of the higher-seeded team. In the postseason’s bracket-style format, the winner of the No. 4-No. 5 series moves on to play the No. 1 seed. The No. 3-No. 6 winner would play the No. 2 seed.
The format of the best-of-five Division Series and the best-of-seven Championship Series has not changed from years past.
Another important difference for this season is the elimination of the one-game tiebreaker at the end of the regular season. In other words, there will no longer be a game No. 163 in the event of any tie in the standings. If two playoff contenders share the same record, the tie will be broken first by their head-to-head record during the regular season and then, if necessary, each team’s intradivision record.
The 2023 MLB playoffs will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 3, with Game 1 in each of the four Wild Card series.
