A Requiem for Team Entropy

MLB has done away with tiebreaker games and the scheduling mayhem that they could cause in favor of a larger inventory of playoff games. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement also expanded the playoff field from 10 to 12 teams. There will be a quartet of three-game series in the Wild Card round. The top two division winners by record get first-round byes. Third division winner plays host for all three games against the third-best Wild card team. Fourth division wins all 3 games, and fifth division hosts all games vs. the second-ranked Wildcard team, who plays the first seed.

There are five stages of breaking ties in MLB. Head-to-head records are the most common one. Interdivision records, second-half of intraleague games and winning percentage are other options. If a team has 20 interleague games, the winning Percentage is decided based on their winning % over the last 71 games. If they have 20 intraloague matches, it's decided on the basis of their last 72 games played. As many games as it takes, if needed, then the percentage is based based upon the number of games won.

Tiebreakers are head-to-head, division and intraleague records. If a team has 20 interleague games, the winning percentage is decided based on their winning Percentage over the last 71 games against teams in their own league. If the team with the best combined winning % against the other teams is involved, then the tiebreaker is the one with best Interdivision and Intradivision records, and if it doesn't work, it's the second-half of intralesague games plus one.

The Dodgers have clinched the NL West and the Astros the AL West. The Mets lead the Braves by a game and a half in the season series. They lead 9-7 with three games left to play in Atlanta. If the Mets lose the series, they will be the fourth seed. All the remaining tiebreakers are clear-cut. The Phillies have the upper hand on both the Padres and Brewers. Their season games against both teams have concluded. In the case of a tie, the Phillies would get the fifth seed based on their 8-5 record against the other two teams.

The Rays are the current leader in the AL Wild Card race. They have clinched series victories over the Mariners and Orioles. The Rays have a two-game advantage over Blue Jays with three more games to play against them. Seattle has a 5-2 advantage against Blue Jay. If the Blue Jays and the Orioles finish with the same record as Toronto and Seattle, the Rays would get the top seed. If they finish tied, Tampa Bay would be the fifth seed based on their current 19-16 record against the other two teams. It's a three-way tiebreaker. A three game series between the Jays and Baltimore from October 3-5 would decide the last seed, if it's not the result of the tie.