BASEBALL'S UNIQUE POSTSEASON
Teams: 16, eight from each league. This is a change from the standard 10-team playoffs and has an expanded wild-card round.
Format: Wild-card series are best-of-three. Division series are best-of-five. League Championship Series and World Series are best-of-seven.
Wild card: In each league, the top three seeds are the division winners, in order of record. The 4-6 seeds are the second-place teams, in order of record. The 7 and 8 seeds are the two remaining teams with the best records. The top four seeds play host to the series, with 1-8, 2-7, 3-6 and 4-5 matchups. The American League starts on Tuesday and National League on Wednesday.
True bracket: Teams will not be reseeded after any round.
Division series: The AL series will be at Petco Park in San Diego and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles starting Oct. 5. The NL will play at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, and Minute Maid Park in Houston beginning Oct. 6.
League Championship Series: The ALCS (Oct. 11-17) will be in San Diego and the NLCS (Oct. 12-18) in Arlington, Texas.
World Series: Oct. 20-28 in Arlington, Texas.
Standings tiebreaker: First tiebreaker is head-to-head meetings. Second tiebreaker is record in the division. Third tiebreaker is record in the division in the past 20 games (plus one until the tie is broken).
