# A.L. Wild Card tiebreaker **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 30, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200 "2005-09-30T14:46:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/1 "2005-09-30T14:46:18Z")
I know if necessary, they will be played on Monday, either NY @ CLE, or CLE @ BOS. Either I’m looking in the wrong place, or not looking hard enough, but I can’t find a potential start time for either game. I’m guessing they’d be afternoon games, to allow for travel when the playoffs start Tuesday, but on the other hand, a night game means more $$. Anyone have an idea when the games would start? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/2 "2005-09-30T14:56:02Z")
I don’t think you’re covering all your bases there. Monday might be NY-Bos for the division title and the loser MAY or MAY NOT have to play Cleveland after that. Given your scenario, I don’t know the times. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/3 "2005-09-30T15:03:53Z")
They haven’t even decided which of the National League series will start on the 4th yet, so I’m not surprised they haven’t announced when tiebreaker games would be played. Why they can’t announce the NLDS times, I don’t know, since it’s pretty well obvious who will be playing and where the series will open. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/4 "2005-09-30T15:31:01Z")
Yep, I failed to consider that the East could still end up tied. Bonus basebal. Woo hoo! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/5 "2005-09-30T18:18:07Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Monday might be NY-Bos for the division title and the loser MAY or MAY NOT have to play Cleveland after that. Why would they have a playoff when the Indians and ChiSox wouldn’t? If Cleveland ties the White Sox, the Sox still win the division. The Indians would then either have won the wild card or would have to win a playoff game. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/6 "2005-09-30T18:22:57Z")
Chicago clinched their division. They wouldn’t be involved in tie breakers in any way. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/7 "2005-09-30T18:23:50Z")
Reading my post, I see that I sound argumentative when I meant to sound confused. Confused! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/8 "2005-09-30T18:30:20Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > Chicago clinched their division. They wouldn’t be involved in tie breakers in any way. They can end up with the same record as the Indians. If the Indians sweep them in the final three games (not likely, but still) they would be tied. But the White Sox have already clinched the division because they won the season series. If the Red Sox win two of three from New York, they will be tied. Why do they play a playoff game for the Eastern division win? Ah, nevermind. I found the cite: > [@mlb.com](#): > > Chicago’s victory reduced its magic number to one, clinching a tie for the AL Central title. But even if the Indians were to sweep the three-game set at Jacobs Field this weekend, thus clinching a playoff berth, the White Sox (96-63) would win the tiebreaker for the AL Central crown with an 11-8 edge in head-to-head play. > > The reason the White Sox and Indians wouldn’t play a one-game playoff is because, with the Red Sox and Yankees playing each other this weekend, one team would be guaranteed to finish out of the playoffs if the Indians swept the White Sox. And in instances in which teams are guaranteed to make the playoffs, MLB does not use a one-game playoff, instead relying on head-to-head matchups to break the tie. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/9 "2005-09-30T18:40:11Z")
Thanks for the cite, jsgoddess…I was wondering about that…oh, and… GO TRIBE!!! ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/10 "2005-09-30T18:54:41Z")
Yes, thanks for the cite. It still took a few readings before it made sense, though. ---
**Author:** ![Innuendo\_Hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Innuendo\_Hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Innuendo_Hunter)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/11 "2005-09-30T19:14:48Z")
Check this out… > [@](#): > > _If the Yankees, Red Sox and Indians finish with identical records:_ > > **For the first time in baseball history, there would be a double playoff.** New York and Boston would play Monday at Yankee Stadium to decide the AL East winner. The loser would play the Indians on Tuesday for the wild card \_ it would either be New York at Cleveland or the Indians at Boston. > > _If the Yankees and Red Sox finish tied, with better records than the Indians:_ > > Both New York and Boston make the playoffs, the Indians are out. Because both the Yankees and Red Sox would be assured spots, then the head-to-head record comes into play; in this case, the Yankees would have a better record vs. Boston and be the AL East champion and the Red Sox would win the wild card. > > _If the Yankees and Red Sox finish tied, with a worse record than the Indians:_ > > Boston and New York hold a one-game playoff at Yankee Stadium on Monday to decide the AL East winner, Cleveland win the wild card. > > _If the Yankees win the AL East and Boston and Cleveland finish tied:_ > > The Indians play at Fenway Park on Monday in a one-game playoff for the wild card. > > _If the Red Sox win the AL East and the Yankees and Cleveland finish tied:_ > > The Yankees play at Jacobs Field on Monday in a one-game playoff for the wild card. > > _If the Chicago White Sox (96-63) and Cleveland wind up with the same record:_ > > Chicago wins the AL Central based on a better head-to-head mark vs. the Indians. Cleveland wins the wild card. That’s some wild shit! :eek: Go Red Sox! ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/12 "2005-09-30T20:53:49Z")
If Cleveland sweeps the series against Chicago, they will be the wild card. Regardless of what the Yankees and Red Sox do. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/13 "2005-09-30T21:03:16Z")
If Cleveland sweeps the series against Chicago, they will be the wild card. Regardless of what the Yankees and Red Sox do. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/14 "2005-09-30T22:40:10Z")
Cleveland loses division tie breaker rules to Chicago (no games), and MLB does not hold the team that lost a Division to a tie breaker to any playoff for the wild card. Cleveland simply gets the wildcard sans wild card tie breaker. The rest are SOL. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/15 "2005-09-30T23:03:49Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Cleveland loses division tie breaker rules to Chicago (no games), and MLB does not hold the team that lost a Division to a tie breaker to any playoff for the wild card. > > Cleveland simply gets the wildcard sans wild card tie breaker. The rest are SOL. Well, no, the statement that “MLB does not hold the team that lost a Division to a tie breaker to any playoff for the wild card.” is simply false. It can’t happen to Cleveland this year because there’s no possible combination of wins that results in that scenario - if Cleveland were to tie Chicago, they’d have 96 wins. It’s impossible for New York and Boston to both finish with 96 wins. If Cleveland wins 96 games they win the Wild Card outright, by at least one full game. But if Chicago and Cleveland hadn’t won as many games as they had - let’s say, they’d both ended the year with 94 wins - then it could have happened. Suppose both Chicago and Cleveland had ended 94-68, Chicago still winning the tiebreaker, while New York finished 96-66 and Boston finished 94-68. Cleveland is bumped to second by the tiebreaker, and Boston and Cleveland would then play off for the wild card. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2005, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/16 "2005-10-01T00:47:15Z")
If any team ties for a division win, but loses the division win based on tie breaker rules (not a tie breaker game), the team that loses the division based on tie breaker rules is given the wildcard, even if their record is the same as other teams vying for the wildcard with the same record. No game is played, and no other tie breaker criteria is used. ---
**Author:** ![twin\_infinitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@twin\_infinitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twin_infinitive)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/17 "2005-10-01T01:14:08Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > If any team ties for a division win, but loses the division win based on tie breaker rules (not a tie breaker game), the team that loses the division based on tie breaker rules is given the wildcard, even if their record is the same as other teams vying for the wildcard with the same record. No game is played, and no other tie breaker criteria is used. But I thought (from the earlier cite) that the only reason they would use tie breaker rules instead of a tie breaker game is that both were already guaranteed to make the playoffs. That seems like circular reasoning. 1. The reason the White Sox and Indians would use tie breaker rules instead of a one-game playoff is because they would both be guaranteed to make the playoffs. 2. They would be guaranteed to make the playoffs because they used tie breaker rules instead of a one game playoff. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/18 "2005-10-01T02:54:19Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > If any team ties for a division win, but loses the division win based on tie breaker rules (not a tie breaker game), the team that loses the division based on tie breaker rules is given the wildcard, even if their record is the same as other teams vying for the wildcard with the same record. No game is played, and no other tie breaker criteria is used. This is not true, as **RickJay** explained. The Indians case is special because there cannot be two other teams in the AL with the same number of wins as Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/19 "2005-10-01T03:16:47Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > If any team ties for a division win, but loses the division win based on tie breaker rules (not a tie breaker game), the team that loses the division based on tie breaker rules is given the wildcard, even if their record is the same as other teams vying for the wildcard with the same record. No game is played, and no other tie breaker criteria is used. That doesn’t really make sense, and defies all precedent and logic. I’d need a cite to believe it. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2005, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-l-wild-card-tiebreaker/324200/20 "2005-10-01T03:19:48Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > The Indians case is special because there cannot be two other teams in the AL with the same number of wins as Chicago. And, of course, now no other team can have the same number of wins as Chicago, since they won tonight.