Baseball postseason questions answered

The baseball playoffs are about to begin. Some fans have questions about the format of the playoffs. The format is different this year than it was in 2021. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement between owners and players has had more movement than a Clayton Kershaw curveball.

Twelve of the 30 MLB teams are in the postseason. Six from each league (American League and National League) and three Wild Card teams from both leagues play a bracket-style postseason to determine a World Series champion.

This is the first year that there will be three Wild Card teams per league. There had been two Wild Cards per team under the previous CBA.

The teams are seeded according to their league record, divisional winner, Wild Card record and Wild card record.

No. 1 seed is the best league record. No. 2 seed: Second-best division winner, No 3 seed third- best division, and No 4 seed best Wild Card record, while No 5 seed has the second-worst Wildcard record among Wild Cards.

The top two seeds in each league have a bye in the first round and advance directly to the Division Series.

The division winner with the worst record and the three Wild Card teams play the opening-round Wildcard series.

There used to be a single-elimination playoff game for each league. Now, the opening round is a best-of-three series. The winners of each series advance to face the top two seeds in the Division Series.

The Wild Card Series is called that even though a couple of division winners are in it.

The division winner of the previous round has to play an extra round.

The bracket is maintained throughout the postseason. The winner of the Division Series faces the No. 2 seed, and the winner 4/5 faces No., 1 seed.

Home-field advantage is given to the team with the higher seed in the Wild Card Series. The setup allows all three games to be played in a three-day span without any travel delays.

Home teams have won 54.7% of all postseason games. In the 2020 season, the percentage was 55.6%. Home teams only went 9-9 in the Wild Card round when it was a single-elimination event.

Home-field advantage works in the Division Series for the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds. For the League Championship Series, the remaining teams with the highest seed get the home-ground advantage. Home-fields advantage goes to the league pennant winner in World Series.

Home-field advantage in the World Series used to be given to the league that won the All-Star Game. That hasn't been the case since 2016.

There was a pandemic-altered 2020 postseason, but that was it. There are no postseason games that take place in a neutral site.

The Division Series starts on Tuesday, October 11. There is a day in-between the Wild Card Series and the Division series for travel and potential makeup scenarios. In the ALDS, the teams have the usual off-day after Game 2 and a travel day after the Game 1.

The postseason starts on Tuesday, Oct. 18 in the NL and on October 19 in AL. The World Series starts Friday, October 28.

The World Series will end in November this year. The earliest it could end is with Game 4 on Nov. 1. Game 7 on November 5 is possible if the Dodgers are hosting.

The designated hitter will be used in all postseason games starting in 2022.

There will be less bunting during the baseball playoffs.

The ghost runner at second in extra innings is a human being.

Automatic runner will not be used in the postseason. Extra innings will start with nobody on base.

There are new rules for baseball that won't be used in the postseason. Three rules were approved for 2023.

Teams submit a 26-man roster prior to each round of the playoffs. Roster can only include postseason-eligible players. A pitcher and a position player can be replaced by a pitcher or a player.

No playoff stats count toward regular-season totals. Albert Pujols recently hit his 700th career home run. Aaron Judge's single-year home-run tally is his total for the year.

Barry Bonds is still the all-time home run leader, but only by 10 runs than Hank Aaron.

The best team in MLB usually wins the World Series. Since 1969, only 14 teams with MLB's best record have won the title. The last team to do it was the 2020 Dodgers.

The reigning World Series champion is rare. It hasn't happened since the 1998-2000 Yankees.

Wild Card teams have won the World Series seven times since MLB first used the Wild Card in 1995.

The new Wild Card format could make it more difficult for a team with the best record to win it all. The teams involved in the Wildcard series have to play up to three games before facing a rested division winner.

If your team gets knocked out of the playoffs, you should cheer on the team that knocked them out.

35. Why do I get the feeling that it won't actually make me feel any better?

The Seattle Mariners haven't been to the World Series since 1998. They entered 2022 with the longest postseason drought in baseball. The M's haven’t clinched a spot yet, but they are in Wild Card position and hold a 3 1/2-game lead on the Orioles with a week left.

The Phillies are in position to nail down a playoff spot for the first time since 2011. Neither the Padres nor the Brewers has ever won the World Series.

Cleveland Guardians are the first team to reach the playoffs with the youngest roster in MLB since 1986.

Dusty Baker is the only manager with at least 2,000 career victories who has not guided a team to a World Series crown. Buck Showalter has more than 1,600 wins without ever winning a postseason series.

Pujols and Molina are retiring after this season. Wainwright is 41. They were together for St. Louis’ 2006 championship team.

The Braves are trying to be the rare repeaters. The Blue Jays haven't won it all since 1993. Dodgers are going for their second World Series in three years. Yankees haven’t been to the World series since 2009.

The winner of the World Series will win the baseball playoffs.