MLB Playoffs: Explaining All the Tiebreaker Scenarios
With so many close races down the stretch, the new postseason tiebreaker system could be more important than ever in 2023.
When Major League Baseball introduced the third Wild Card team to the postseason picture, they also introduced a whole new set of tiebreaker rules. Tiebreaker games are no more; instead, every tie can be decided by the results of the regular season schedule.
The new rules are plentiful, but they really aren’t that complicated. If two teams are tied at the end of the season, the team with the better head-to-head record comes out on top. If the two clubs split the season series, then the team with a better record within its own division is the winner.
There are further tiebreaking procedures if head-to-head and intradivision records aren’t enough, but it’s unlikely it ever comes to that – we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
While the rules themselves aren’t overly complicated, it can certainly be difficult to keep track of all the tiebreakers, especially with so many close races in both the American and National Leagues.
With that in mind, you can use this tracker to keep tabs on every tiebreaker scenario, by race or by team. Team names are in bold throughout the article for easy skimming.
Tiebreakers by Race
American League Tiebreakers
Tiebreakers as of Tuesday, September 26. See “Tiebreakers by Team” below for further details.
AL East
- If the Orioles and Rays are tied, the Orioles will win the division.
AL West
- If the Astros and Mariners are tied, the Mariners will win the division.
- If the Astros and Rangers are tied, the Astros will win the division.
- If the Mariners and Rangers are tied, the Rangers will win the division.
- If the Astros, Mariners, and Rangers are all tied, the Mariners will win the division. The Mariners have the best record against the other two teams combined.
Wild Card
*For the Astros, Rangers, and Mariners tiebreakers, see “AL West” tiebreakers above.
- If the Blue Jays and Mariners are tied, the Mariners will win the Wild Card spot.
- If the Blue Jays and Astros are tied, the Blue Jays will win the Wild Card spot.
- If the Blue Jays and Rangers are tied, the Rangers will win the Wild Card spot.
- If the Blue Jays, Mariners, and Astros are all tied, the Mariners and Blue Jays will take the Wild Card spots. The Blue Jays and Mariners have the same record against one another, and they both have a winning record against the Astros.
- If the Blue Jays, Mariners, and Rangers are all tied, the Rangers and Mariners will take the Wild Card spots. The Rangers have won the season series against both the Blue Jays and the Mariners. The Mariners and Blue Jays split their season series, but the Mariners have a better intradivision record.
- If the Blue Jays, Rangers, and Astros are all tied, the Astros and Rangers will take the Wild Card spots. The Astros have the best record against the other two teams combined. The Rangers have won the season series against the Blue Jays.
National League Tiebreakers
Tiebreakers as of Tuesday, September 26. See “Tiebreakers by Team” below for further details.
Wild Card Top Seed
- If the Phillies and Cubs are tied, the Phillies will be the top-seeded NL Wild Card team.
- If the Phillies and Diamondbacks are tied, the Phillies will be the top-seeded NL Wild Card team.
- If the Phillies and Reds are tied, the Phillies will be the top-seeded NL Wild Card team.
- If the Phillies and Marlins are tied, the Marlins will be the top-seeded NL Wild Card team.
Wild Card
See “The NL Wild Card Race Has Gotten Out of Hand” for a detailed breakdown of the five teams competing for the second and third Wild Card spots.
| TEAM | VS. CIN | VS. ARI | VS. MIA | VS. CHC | VS. ALL | INTRADIVISION |
| Reds | x | .571 | .500 | .538 | .538 | .408 |
| Diamondbacks | .429 | x | .333 | .857 | .550 | .549 |
| Marlins | .500 | .667 | x | .667 | .611 | .521 |
| Cubs | .462 | .143 | .333 | x | .346 | .604 |
Tiebreakers by Team
American League Tiebreakers
Baltimore Orioles
- Season series vs. Rays: 8-5
The Orioles hold the AL East tiebreaker over the Rays.
Houston Astros
- Season series vs. Blue Jays: 3-4
- Season series vs. Mariners: 3-8 (two games remaining)
- Season series vs. Rangers: 9-4
The Astros hold the AL West/Wild Card tiebreaker over the Rangers. They do not hold the tiebreaker over the Mariners or the Blue Jays.
Seattle Mariners
- Season series vs. Blue Jays: 3-3
- Season series vs. Astros: 8-3 (two games remaining)
- Season series vs. Rangers: 1-8 (four games remaining)
The Mariners hold the AL West/Wild Card tiebreaker over the Astros. They hold the AL Wild Card tiebreaker over the Blue Jays because they have a better intradivision record. They do not hold the tiebreaker over the Rangers.
Tampa Bay Rays
- Season series vs. Orioles: 5-8
Thankfully for the Rays, they have already secured a postseason berth, so they don’t need to worry about tiebreakers in the Wild Card race. They would lose to the Astros, Mariners, or Rangers.
The Rays do not hold the AL East tiebreaker over the Orioles.
Texas Rangers
- Season series vs. Blue Jays: 6-1
- Season series vs. Astros: 4-9
- Season series vs. Mariners: 8-1 (four games remaining)
The Rangers hold the tiebreaker over the Mariners and the Blue Jays. They do not hold the tiebreaker over the Astros.
Toronto Blue Jays
- Season series vs. Mariners: 3-3
- Season series vs. Astros: 4-3
- Season series vs. Rangers: 1-6
The Blue Jays hold the AL Wild Card tiebreaker over the Astros. They do not hold the tiebreaker over the Mariners because Seattle has a better intradivision record. They do not hold the tiebreaker over the Rangers.
National League Tiebreakers
Arizona Diamondbacks
- Season series vs. Marlins: 2-4
- Season series vs. Giants: 7-6
- Season series vs. Reds: 3-4
- Season series vs. Cubs: 6-1
The Diamondbacks hold the NL Wild Card tiebreaker over the Cubs and the Giants. They do not hold the tiebreaker over the Marlins or the Reds.
Chicago Cubs
- Season series vs. Marlins: 2-4
- Season series vs. Giants: 5-1
- Season series vs. Diamondbacks: 1-6
- Season series vs. Reds: 6-7
Out of their four closest competitors in the Wild Card race, the Cubs only hold the tiebreaker over the Giants. They do not hold the tiebreaker over the Marlins, Diamondbacks, or Reds.
Cincinnati Reds
- Season series vs. Marlins: 3-3
- Season series vs. Giants: 3-4
- Season series vs. Diamondbacks: 4-3
- Season series vs. Cubs: 7-6
The Reds hold the tiebreaker over the Cubs and the Diamondbacks. They do not hold the tiebreaker over the Giants. They do not own the tiebreaker over the Marlins because they have a worse intradivision record.
Miami Marlins
- Season series vs. Giants: 3-3
- Season series vs. Diamondbacks: 4-2
- Season series vs. Reds: 3-3
- Season series vs. Cubs: 4-2
The Marlins hold the NL Wild Card tiebreaker over the Cubs and the Diamondbacks. They currently hold the tiebreaker over the Reds but not the Giants because of their respective intradivision records.
Philadelphia Phillies
- Season series vs. Cubs: 5-1
- Season series vs. Diamondbacks: 4-3
- Season series vs. Reds: 4-3
- Season series vs. Marlins: 6-7
The Phillies have a 3.5-game lead over their closest Wild Card competitors.
If the Phillies and Cubs are tied, the Phillies will be the top-seeded NL Wild Card team. If the Phillies and Diamondbacks are tied, the Phillies will be the top-seeded NL Wild Card team. If the Phillies and Reds are tied, the Phillies will be the top-seeded NL Wild Card team.
If the Phillies and Marlins are tied, the Marlins will be the top-seeded NL Wild Card team.
Additional Resources
Head-to-head records for all 30 teams via ESPN.
Intradivision records via Baseball Reference.
Tiebreaker procedures via MLB.com.
Written by
Leo Morgenstern is an editor for Just Baseball and a writer for FanGraphs and MLB Trade Rumors. His work has also appeared at Baseball Prospectus, Pitcher…