# What Happens If Dodgers, Padres, and Phillies All Tie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 28, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-dodgers-padres-and-phillies-all-tie/374549 "2006-09-28T23:34:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hooleehootoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/eada6e/32.png) [@Hooleehootoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hooleehootoo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-dodgers-padres-and-phillies-all-tie/374549/1 "2006-09-28T23:34:18Z")
What happens if all 3 teams end with same record? I had understood that the winner of two tied wild-card teams was decided with a coin flip. Is that right? ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-dodgers-padres-and-phillies-all-tie/374549/2 "2006-09-28T23:46:57Z")
> [@](#): > > If three or more clubs are tied at the end of the regular season and two or more of those teams are tied for first place in a division, then the division tie is broken first by a playoff game. Granted, in 1995 the Angels’ record dropped to 78-67, but under the hypothetical three-way tie described above, they would have been deadlocked with the 78-66 Yankees in the Wild Card race for purposes of applying tie-breaking rules. The Wild Card would then have been settled by a one-game playoff between the Angels and the Yankees. > > . . . > > If two teams tie for the Wild Card berth, a playoff game will decide which team gets into postseason play. The most recent case was in the NL, in 1999, with the Mets beating the Reds in the playoff game. This year’s NL race could pose an unusual situation. Seven teams have a chance in the Wild Card race, including the Dodgers and Padres, who are battling for the lead in the NL West. [More than you wanted to know](http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060908&content_id=1652091&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb) ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-dodgers-padres-and-phillies-all-tie/374549/3 "2006-09-29T00:58:06Z")
[QUOTE=Hooleehootoo] What happens if all 3 teams end with same record? I had understood that the winner of two tied wild-card teams was decided with a coin flip. Is that right? [/QUOTE] Not exactly. Since the Dodgers and Padres are in the same division, they would play a one-game playoff to determine the division winner (NL West). The winner would make the playoffs by virtue of winning the division. The loser would miss the playoffs by virtue (or vice) of having a poorer winning percentage than the Phillies, since they would have the same number of wins but one more loss. Thus in this scenario (Dodgers, Padres and Phillies all have the same record on the last day of the season), the Phillies would win the wild card in either case. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-dodgers-padres-and-phillies-all-tie/374549/4 "2006-09-29T13:28:56Z")
There are also plans if three teams tie for the division title, but none qualify for the wild card. They actually had these in place this year in case there was a three-way tie with St. Louis, Houston, and Cincinnati. It’s actually quite fiendishly clever: The teams flip coins to determine who goes first. Then, the have the choice of three options: A. A single playoff game, but it’s on the road. B. Two playoff games, the first on the road, the second at home. C. Two playoff games at home. Thus, whoever picks (or is forced to pick) C would play B at home. If C wins, A comes to town. If B wins, they go home to face A. Teams have to choose. If you get first pick, do you prefer to play one game to win it? Or would you rather play two games at home? Or doesn’t it matter and you choose B? Whichever you pick, you could be second-guessed for ages. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-dodgers-padres-and-phillies-all-tie/374549/5 "2006-09-29T16:56:58Z")
[QUOTE=robardin] The loser would miss the playoffs by virtue (or vice) of having a poorer winning percentage than the Phillies, since they would have the same number of wins but one more loss. Thus in this scenario (Dodgers, Padres and Phillies all have the same record on the last day of the season), the Phillies would win the wild card in either case. [/QUOTE] Is this true? I didn’t think the 1-game playoff would be counted in the final standings. The last two teams need to play _another_ 1 game playoff to determine the wildcard spot. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-dodgers-padres-and-phillies-all-tie/374549/6 "2006-09-30T05:42:14Z")
[QUOTE=Telemark] Is this true? I didn’t think the 1-game playoff would be counted in the final standings. The last two teams need to play _another_ 1 game playoff to determine the wildcard spot. [/QUOTE] You are correct. The Dodgers would play the Pads for the division and then the loser would play Philly for the wild card. Any of these games would count as regular season games though so the player stats would count and the games would end up in the final standings.