It’s that time of year when people ask how many wild card teams are in the MLB Playoffs? How does the playoff seeding work in 2024? Luckily for us, the format has stayed relatively static the past few seasons. There are a total of six wild card teams for the Playoffs this season. Unlike the WNBA, they are evenly split between the American and National Leagues with three teams from each earning a spot. We’ll get into how the MLB Playoff seeding works for you below.
How Many Wild Card Teams are in the MLB Playoffs?
So, the answer to how many wild card teams are in the MLB Playoffs is six. Three from the American League and three from the National League. Over the years, this number has expanded to what we see today for the 2024 MLB Playoffs. Each of the teams play a total of 162 regular season games. These six teams are in addition to the six divisional winners for a total of 12 teams in the playoffs (six in each league).
When Do the MLB Playoffs Start?
The 2024 MLB Playoffs start on Tuesday, October 1st, 2024. This is just two days after regular season play for the teams to wrap up.
What is the 2024 MLB Playoff Picture? Who has Earned a Playoff Spot?
At the time of this writing, there are eight teams who have earned a 2024 MLB Playoff spot. We’ll update the list for you as more teams earn a spot or win their division.
| American League |
| Baltimore Orioles |
| Cleveland Guardians (AL Central champions) |
| Houston Astros (AL West champions) |
| New York Yankees |
| National League |
| Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Milwaukee Brewers (NL Central champions) |
| Philadelphia Phillies (NL East champions) |
| San Diego Padres |
How Do the MLB Playoffs Work in 2024?
Once all of the teams have earned a spot in the playoffs, they are seeded one through six. The three division winners are the top three seeds (even if their record is worse). Then, the wild card teams get a seed. The top two seeds in each league get a bye to the Divisional Series. The remaining four teams play a best-of-three Wild Card round.
The higher (ie better) seed gets home games for the full series. So, we’ll see #4 vs #5 (best and second best wild card seeds), and #3 (third best divisional winner) vs #5 (third-best wild card team). There is no reseeding, so the #1 seed plays the winner of #4 vs #5 and #2 plays the winner of the #3 vs #6 matchup in a best-of-five matchup. These winners then face off in the ALCS and NLCS (best of seven games). Then, we get the World Series.
How Many Games are in an MLB Playoff Series?
So, for the Division Series, the games are played in a 2-2-1 format. The higher seed will be the home team for the first two and fifth games. In the League Championship and World Series, this shifts to a 2-3-2 format for the best of seven game series. This means that the higher seed will host games #1, 2, 6, and 7. For the World Series, the team with the better record from the regular season gets the home field advantage.
What is the 2024 MLB Playoff Schedule?
Here’s the higher-level 2024 MLB Playoff schedule. We have the complete MLB Playoff schedule posted up for you here. There is a twist where the World Series can start sooner if all of the teams win the Championship Series early. You can also check out the printable 2024 MLB Playoff Bracket and past world series winners here.
| Wild Card Series: Oct. 1-3 |
| Division Series: Oct. 5-12 |
| League Championship Series: Oct. 13-22 |
| World Series: October 25 Start |
Padres Turn a Triple Play to Clinch 2024 MLB Playoff Berth (Full Inning)
