MLB playoff format, explained: How many teams are in the postseason? Who's in this year?

The 2024 MLB postseason is right around the corner, with less than 10 days until the end of the regular season. The byes and division races seem mostly settled, but there's still seeding up for grabs and a race for the final wild card spot in the American League and National League.

How the MLB playoffs work has changed over the history of the sport, especially of late. There was simply a World Series for 65 years (1903-1968) between the American League and National League pennant winners. Then came the addition of a best-of-five — and eventually best-of-seven — league championship series before the World Series.

A wild card spot in each league was introduced in 1994, with a five-game divisional series round before the league championship series. In 2012, a second wild card team was added to each league along with a one-game playoff between the two wild card teams before the divisional round. There were temporarily eight teams from each league in the 2020 playoffs impacted by the pandemic. The current format went into effect ahead of the 2022 MLB postseason.

Here's what you need to know about this year's MLB playoffs, including how the postseason format works, how many teams qualify, and what teams are still in the postseason picture:

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How many teams are in the 2024 MLB postseason?

There are 12 teams total — six from the American League and six from the National League — that make the MLB playoffs.

The division winners of the AL East, AL Central and AL West, as well as the NL East, NL Central and NL West, will be the top three seeds in their respective leagues' playoff bracket. They are seeded in order of regular-season record. The three non-division winners with the next-best records in each of the American League and National League will qualify for the MLB postseason as wild-card teams.

Who's in the 2024 MLB playoffs?

The New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians had clinched American League playoff berths ahead of games being played on Friday, Sept. 20 and lead the AL East and AL Central, respectively. The Los Angeles Dodgers had also clinched a National League playoff berth and lead the NL West. The Milwaukee Brewers have clinched the NL Central division title and will be one of the National League's top three seeds in the MLB postseason.

If the 2024 MLB playoffs were starting before games being played on Friday, Sept. 20, the Houston Astros would be the AL Central Division winner and the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers would be the three wild card teams from the American League. The Philadelphia Phillies would be the NL East winners and the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Mets would be NL wild card teams.

How do the MLB playoffs work?

The MLB playoffs expanded to a six-team bracket in both the American League and National League starting with the 2022 postseason, eliminating the controversial single-elimination wild card game and moving into a format featuring an additional round before the division series and a bye for the best regular-season teams.

The division winners in the American League and National League are the top three seeds and seeded in order of regular-season record. The two best teams in each respective league receive a bye in the first round and advance to an AL or NL division series.

The other division winner in both the American League and National League (No. 3 seed) faces the third wild card team, or No. 6 seed, in a wild card series. The other two wild card teams in each league — No. 4 and No. 5 seed — also face one another in a wild card series.

The winner of each American League and National League wild card series advances to play one of the top two seeds in their respective league in a division series. The winner of each division series advances to the American League or National League Championship Series. The winners of the ALCS and NLCS play in the World Series.

What is the MLB playoff format for each postseason round?

The wild card series is a best-of-three games format, with the first team to win two games advancing to the division series. All games in the wild card series are played at the home stadium of the higher seed and played on consecutive days, if possible.

The division series is still a best-of-five set-up, with the first team to win three games advancing to the American League or National League Championship Series. The higher seed hosts the first two games of the division series, the lower seed hosts Game 3 and Game 4 (if necessary), and the higher seed hosts a potential Game 5.

The ALCS and NLCS are both best-of-seven series with the first team to win four games advancing to the World Series, which is also a best-of-seven series. The league championship series and the World Series are each a 2-3-2 format: The higher seed hosts the first two games, the lower seed hosts Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary), and the higher seed hosts Games 6 and 7 if they're necessary.

2024 MLB postseason schedule:

Wild Card Series (best-of-three):

Oct. 1:

• AL Wild Card Game 1

• NL Wild Card Game 1

Oct. 2

• AL Wild Card Game 2

• NL Wild Card Game 2

Oct. 3

• AL Wild Card Game 3 (if necessary)

• NL Wild Card Game 3 (if necessary)

Division Series (best-of-five):

Oct. 5

• ALDS Game 1

• NLDS Game 1

Oct. 6

• NLDS Game 2

Oct. 7

• ALDS Game 2

Oct. 8

• NLDS Game 3

Oct. 9

• ALDS Game 3

• NLDS Game 4 (if necessary)

Oct. 10

• ALDS Game 4 (if necessary)

Oct. 11

• NLDS Game 5 (if necessary)

Oct. 12

• ALDS Game 5 (if necessary)

League Championship Series (best-of-seven):

Oct. 13

• NLCS Game 1

Oct. 14

• ALCS Game 1

• NLCS Game 2

Oct. 15

• ALCS Game 2

Oct. 16

• NLCS Game 3

Oct. 17

• ALCS Game 3

• NLCS Game 4

Oct. 18

• ALCS Game 4

• NLCS Game 5 (if necessary)

Oct. 19

• ALCS Game 5 (if necessary)

Oct. 20

• NLCS Game 6 (if necessary)

Oct. 21

• ALCS Game 6 (if necessary)

• NLCS Game 7 (if necessary)

Oct. 22

• ALCS Game 7 (if necessary)

World Series (best-of-seven):

• Oct. 25: World Series Game 1

• Oct. 26: World Series Game 2

• Oct. 28: World Series Game 3

• Oct. 29: World Series Game 4

• Oct. 30: World Series Game 5 (if necessary)

• Nov. 1: World Series Game 6 (if necessary)

• Nov. 2: World Series Game 7 (if necessary)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB playoff format: How many teams are in postseason?