Major League Baseball will crown a new champion for the 24th consecutive season after the Texas Rangers were eliminated from the playoffs last week.
There is plenty of drama on Major League Baseball’s final day of the regular season, which will decide the final playoff teams in the National League.
The American League finalized its playoff scenarios on Sunday.
Six teams in each league qualify for the postseason: the three division winners and three wild-card teams. The two teams with the best records get a first-round bye and begin the postseason in the Division Series.
Major League Baseball will crown a new champion for
the 24th consecutive season after the Texas Rangers, the 2023 World Series winners, were eliminated from the playoffs last week.
The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Monday, with the winner advancing to the postseason. The Arizona Diamondbacks are mathematically still alive, but their future is tied to the final game between the two games at Truist Park in Atlanta.
Despite losing five of their last six games, the Diamondbacks
stayed in the playoff hunt with an 11–2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. However, Arizona (89–73) needs a sweep by either the Mets (88–72) or Braves (88–72) in the doubleheader because they would lose a three-way tiebreaker if there is a split in the games.
San Diego already clinched the No. 1 wild card seed with a
93–69 record. The Milwaukee Brewers, as the National League Central champions also at 93–69, host the lowest-seeded team. The opponents for the Brewers and Padres will be finalized after the games between the Mets and Braves.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, the National League West champions, are the No. 1 seed and earned home-field advantage throughout the playoffs after finishing with a
league-best 98–64 record. The Phillies won the National League East and earned the No. 2 seed
at 95–67.
The Phillies last won the World Series
in 2008.The American League playoff picture is much clearer.
The New York Yankees, which have
won the most World Series titles in MLB history with 27, captured the American League East and the No. 1 seed after finishing at
94–68. The Cleveland Guardians, the AL Central champions, are the N0. 2 seed after finishing 92–69. Cleveland has not won a World Series since 1948.
The Baltimore Orioles earned the No. 1 wild card seed after going
91–71. The Orioles won more than 90 games for the second straight season. It’s the first time they accomplished that feat since 1982–83. Baltimore’s last World Series victory also occurred in 1983.
The Orioles host the Kansas City, which finished the season at 86–76 and edged the Detroit Tigers for the fifth seed over the weekend. The Royals have not won a World Series since 2015. Kansas City
went 2–4 against Baltimore during the 2024 regular season.
The Houston Astros won the American League Central division with an
88–73 record and host the Tigers. The Astros are looking to win their second World Series title in the past three years.
However, the Tigers will be a formidable opponent because they also ended the season as one of the American League’s hottest teams. Detroit has
won 10 of its past 11 games, earning a spot in the postseason for the first time since 2014. The Tigers have not won a World Series since 1984 and
went 2–4 against the Astros this season.
