As Sept. ends, this can only mean that Major League Baseball’s playoffs are just around the corner. Now that MLB added another wild card spot, one more team will have the chance to make the playoffs. This will expand the number of teams that make the postseason from 4 to 5. With less than 3 weeks to go in the regular season, only a few teams are still in the hunt to become world champions.
In the American League, the 3 division leaders from the East, Central and West are the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox and the Texas Rangers respectively. In the top two wild card spots are the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees. The Los Angeles Angels, Tampa Bay Rays and the Detroit Tigers are still alive in the playoff race. The teams are all less than 5 games behind the second wild card spot, thus making the remaining games very critical.
Things in the National League are a bit more interesting. 8 teams are still within distances of making the playoffs via the wild card. The Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals hold the two wild card spots, while the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres are 6 1/2 games behind the second wild card spot. Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants have good leads in their division and more than likely will be on top once the regular season is over.
The way the playoffs work this 2012 season is that the 3 division winners will await the winner of a one-game playoff between the teams that won the 2 wild card spots. In other words, if the season ended as of today, the White Sox would face the Orioles and the Rangers would face the winner of the Yankees and Athletics one-game playoff. In the National League, the Giants would face the Reds and the Nationals would face the winner of the Braves and Cardinals one-game playoff.
Below are the current standings of each division as of Wednesday September 13, 2012. For more information, scores, schedules and highlights visit Major League Baseball’s official website at MLB.com
AMERICAN LEAGUE *only teams in playoff contention
EAST W L GB
Baltimore Orioles 81 62 –
NY Yankees 81 62 –
Tampa Bay Rays 77 66 4.0
CENTRAL W L GB
Chicago White Sox 77 66 –
Detroit Tigers 75 67 1.0
WEST W L GB
Texas Rangers 85 57 –
Oakland Athletics 82 61 3.5
LA Angels 78 66 8.0
WILD CARD W L GB
Oakland Athletics 82 61 –
Baltimore Orioles 81 62 –
New York Yankees 81 62 –
LA Angels 82 61 3.5
Tampa Bay Rays 77 66 4.0
Detroit Tigers 75 67 5.5
NATIONAL LEAGUE *only teams in playoff contention
EAST W L GB
Washington Nationals 89 54 –
Atlanta Braves 81 63 8.
CENTRAL W L GB
Cincinnati Reds 87 57 –
St. Louis Cardinals 75 68 11.5
WEST W L GB
San Francisco Giants 81 62 –
Los Angeles Dodgers 74 69 7.0
WILD CARD W L GB
Atlanta Braves 81 63 –
St. Louis Cardinals 75 68 –
Los Angeles Dodgers 74 69 1.0
Pittsburgh Pirates 72 70 2.5
Milwaukee Brewers 72 71 3.0
Philadelphia Phillies 72 71 3.0
Arizona D-Backs 71 72 4.0
San Diego Padres 69 75 6.5
Ignacio Banda can be reached at (ignaciobanda@dusty.tamiu.edu)