In what has been by far the most wild, unpredictable and bizarre season in the history of baseball, teams that most insiders gave zero chance to play in October are still chasing a playoff berth as well begin the final week of the season. The Miami Marlins are in second place and could be a playoff team in 2020. The Chicago White Sox lead their division (although I predicted this one preseason -and I was called a variety of interesting names when I did so). The Red Sox sit in last place in the A.L East and the San Francisco Giants are in a battle for the final playoff spot in the National League West with the Reds and the Brewers.
What of the many downsides to having these expanded playoffs is the fact that it is not so easy to just glance at the standing and know what has to happen and who has to win what games in order for your team to play in October. So, today, we will try to make sense of the playoff rules 2020 and understand what teams and games need to be focused on as we wind down the 2020 Major League Baseball Season. Let’s start with a basic refresher of exactly how you get into the playoffs if you’re not one of the top two teams in the division.
Obviously, the two teams not in first or second place with the best records would be in as the 7th and 8th seed. However, there is a strong chance there will be teams tied, and in this shortened season, there is not going to be time to have extra playin games, which would have been quite awesome. Unfortunately, ties will be determined by the following method:
Head-To-Head Record (Due to the fact that teams are only playing within their division, this may not be applicable)
Intravision Record
Record in the final 20 division games (plus one until the tie is broken)
In the American League, the 7th and 8th seeds are already starting to become clear - the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians have both created some space between themselves and other playoff hopefuls such as the Baltimore Orioles and the Seattle Mariners. Unless something insane happens, it’ll the Blue Jays and Indians in the playoffs as the 7th and 8th seeds. Here is what the playoffs would look like in the American League if the season ended today:
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto Blue Jays (8) at Tampa Bay Rays (1)
Cleveland Indians (7) at Chicago White Sox (2)
Houston Astros (6) at Oakland Athletics (3)
New York Yankees (5) at Minnesota Twins (4)
However, in the National League, things aren’t so clear. There are several teams very close to a .500 record that are all bunched together and some are going to get in and others will be left out. Some of these teams, like the Marlins and Cardinals, are in second place right now but could go into a losing streak and fall out all together. For the purposes of this analysis, we’ll concentrate on the teams not in first or second place that have a chance to get in and those teams include the Philadelphia Phillies, The Cincinnati Reds, The Milwaukee Brewers, and of course, the San Francisco Giants.
As of right now, The Reds are one game above .500, the Phillies are at .500, and the Brewers and Giants one game below .500. Of these teams, only the Brewers and Reds have played each other and the Reds own the better head-to-head record against Milwaukee having won 4 and lost only 3. Here’s how the current intradivisional records look:
Phillies 20-17
Marlins 20-17*
Cardinals 19-16*
Reds 19-18
Brewers 16-16
Giants 15-17
*Currently in 2nd place, guaranteeing a playoff berth
As it stands, the Giants have the short stick as far as intradivisional record. The good news is with 3 more games remaining against the Rockies and 4 against the Padres, the Giants have every chance to significantly improve that record. The Reds play the Brewers and tomorrow night, which are huge games that could absolutely flip the script on who we expect to see in October. After that, the Reds finish their season with three against the Twins.
An even more important series may be the five game series between the Cardinals and the Brewers, which will definitely seal the fate of those teams and will have massive effects on the others as well. This will be a series to keep a close eye on. It seems obvious to root for the Cardinals, unless you’re a Brewers fan of course, since the Cardinals are already in as one of the top two teams. And obviously, unless you’re a Reds fan, it will be Go Twins when the Reds go to Minnesota.
The Phillies are also a team to keep an eye as the play 3 against the Nationals then 3 in Tampa Bay. There is really no reason to root for the Phillies unless you’re a Phillies fan. The Nationals are not getting in the Tampa Bay Rays are in the American League and definitely getting in. However, the Phillies are going to get 2 starts from Aaron Nola and 2 starts from Zack Wheeler who have been fantastic and can definitely help the Phils reach that October goal. The last team to keep an eye on is the Marlins, as they could go on a losing streak and fall out completely or they could still try to take the division as they have a four game series against the first place Braves. So, more than likely, you’ll probably want to root for the Braves unless of course, you’re one of the 12 Marlins fans. (It’s a joke, guys.) After the Braves series, Miami goes on the play the Yankees which will be a tough series, so definitely keep an eye on Miami as well.
So, that is pretty much where we currently stand in the National League. There are a lot of teams with their eyes on October and this is going to be some of the most exciting baseball we’ve had in a long time, for us Giants fans, it’s been since 2016 that we had a legit shot at the playoffs this late in the year. Unfortunately, the Giants lost yesterday to the Rockies but we’re looking to bounce back today. I want to give a sincere Good Luck to all the fans of the teams currently in the battle. This is going to be wild.