Why the current MLB playoff seeding doesn't make sense -- and how to fix it

Postseason baseball is exactly one week away. Game 1 of the four Wild Card Series is next Tuesday, and, for the second straight year and the third time in four years, a team with the second-best record in its league will play in that best-of-three Wild Card Series rather than earn a bye to the League Division Series. The bye goes to the division winners with the two best records, not the teams with the two best records.

The current postseason format has been in place since 2022. Here are the previous two times a team finished with the second-best record in its league only to get bumped down from the No. 2 seed to the No. 4 seed due to the format rules:

The 2026 AL East will join that group as well. Barring a miracle, the Rays (95-60) will win the division and the Yankees (89-66) will finish second, and they'll have the league's two best records. Tampa will get a bye while the Yankees play in the Wild Card Series. The second bye will go to the AL Central or AL West winner, neither of whom will finish within eight games of New York.

Furthermore, the Yankees are lined up to play the Red Sox (84-72) in the Wild Card Series. The Red Sox will soon clinch the AL's third-best record. The winner of that series will then play the Rays in the ALDS because the postseason format says the league's No. 1 seed must play a wild-card team in the Division Series, so they get the No. 4 vs. No. 5 seed winner. Got all that?

Here are the current AL standings:

The Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees will go through each other in the Wild Card Series and ALDS, while one of the Astros, Guardians, or Rangers (or Blue Jays or Astros, if they make it) is guaranteed a spot in the ALCS. The Red Sox haven't locked up the No. 5 seed yet. They should tank the rest of their games and fall into the No. 6 seed! The No. 6 seed has a much more favorable path.

From 2023-25, only twice did the worst division winner have a better record than the top wild-card team, and on two occasions, the second wild-card team had a better record than the worst division winner. That will likely be the case again this season with the Yankees, Red Sox, and whatever happens with the AL Central and AL West races. It's a good year to be a mediocre team in the American League.

I'm sympathetic to the "if you don't like it, win your division" argument, but there must be a better way -- a fairer way -- to run the postseason. One that rewards the best teams regardless of divisions, which would incentivize everyone to win as many games as possible (or more games than the current system, anyway). Any format that potentially rewards having a worse record is a bad one.

The easiest solution is reseeding the six postseason teams, either before the postseason entirely or at least after the Wild Card Series. For argument's sake, let's run through both scenarios using last year's standings.

Reseed before the Wild Card Series

Under this scenario, we're lining teams up 1 through 6 based on their records, regardless of division. More wins, more reward. You don't benefit if you happen to play in a division with a few rebuilding teams that drag down the competition. Here's what last year's postseason bracket actually looked like, and what it would have looked like had we reseeded from the outset.

Actual brackets

AL bye: No. 1 Blue Jays (94-68) and No. 2 Mariners (90-72)
AL Wild Card Series: No. 6 Tigers (87-75) vs. No. 3 Guardians (88-74)
AL Wild Card Series: No. 5 Red Sox (89-73) at No. 4 Yankees (94-68)

NL bye: No. 1 Brewers (97-65) and No. 2 Phillies (96-66)
NL Wild Card Series: No. 6 Reds (83-79) at No. 3 Dodgers (93-69)
NL Wild Card Series: No. 5 Padres (90-72) at No. 4 Cubs (92-70)  

Reseeded brackets

AL bye: No. 1 Blue Jays (94-68) and No. 2 Yankees (94-68)
AL Wild Card Series: No. 6 Tigers (87-75) at No. 3 Mariners (90-72)
AL Wild Card Series: No. 5 Guardians (88-74) at No. 4 Red Sox (89-73)

NL bye: No. 1 Brewers (97-65) and No. 2 Phillies (96-66)
NL Wild Card Series: No. 6 Reds (83-79) at No. 3 Dodgers (93-69)
NL Wild Card Series: No. 5 Padres (90-72) at No. 4 Cubs (92-70)

Hey, nothing changed on the NL side! That was the rare instance in which each team's record aligned perfectly with its postseason seed. Perhaps that's a sign this is all a waste of time and any criticism of the postseason seeding is unwarranted?

Then again, the AL gets a complete overhaul. The Mariners don't get a bye because they finished four games behind the team with the league's second-best record. The Red Sox host the Wild Card Series instead of going on the road. There is no AL Central mid-off between the Guardians and Tigers in the Wild Card Series (seriously, who wanted more of that?).

Reseeding gives the teams with the two best records a reward (the bye) and perhaps pushes the other four teams a little harder during the last week or so. The Red Sox clinched a postseason berth in Game 160 last year. Do they keep their foot on the gas in the last two games to ensure home field advantage in the Wild Card Series? Maybe not, but it's at least a consideration now.

Reseed after the Wild Card Series

There are logistical concerns with reseeding. Once a team clinches its division, they're guaranteed to play home games in the postseason. That creates certainty with ticket sales, travel, all that very real stuff. This scenario, then, calls for leaving initial postseason seeding and the Wild Card Series as is, then reseeding teams after that first round is complete. Here again are last year's actual vs. reseeded brackets. 

Actual brackets

AL bye: No. 1 Blue Jays (94-68) and No. 2 Mariners (90-72)
AL Wild Card Series: No. 6 Tigers (87-75) over No. 3 Guardians (88-74)
AL Wild Card Series: No. 4 Yankees (94-68) over No. 5 Red Sox (89-73)
ALDS: No. 4 Yankees (94-68) at No. 1 Blue Jays (94-68)
ALDS: No. 6 Tigers (87-75) at No. 2 Mariners (90-72)

The AL East was decided on the final day of the 2025 season. The Blue Jays and Yankees battled down to Game 162, and Toronto won the division because it won the season series. Their reward for 162 hard-fought games? Playing the 94-win Yankees in the ALDS, not the 87-win Tigers, because the No. 1 seed plays the winner of the No. 4 vs. 5 matchup. Make it make sense.

NL bye: No. 1 Brewers (97-65) and No. 2 Phillies (96-66)
NL Wild Card Series: No. 3 Dodgers (93-69) over No. 6 Reds (83-79)
NL Wild Card Series: No. 4 Cubs (92-70) over No. 5 Padres (90-72)
NLDS: No. 4 Cubs (92-70) at No. 1 Brewers (97-65)
NLDS: No. 3 Dodgers (93-69) at No. 2 Phillies (96-66)

Again, things worked out neatly in the NL's case. The teams with the three best records happened to be the three division winners, and in the NLDS, you got No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3. The 2025 NL is the counterargument to the reseeding plan. Since nothing would have changed on the NL side, we'll look at just the AL bracket in the reseeding scenario.

Reseeded AL bracket

AL bye: No. 1 Blue Jays (94-68) and No. 2 Mariners (90-72)
AL Wild Card Series: No. 6 Tigers (87-75) over No. 3 Guardians (88-74)
AL Wild Card Series: No. 4 Yankees (94-68) over No. 5 Red Sox (89-73)
ALDS: No. 4 Tigers (87-75) at No. 1 Blue Jays (94-68)
ALDS: No. 3 Mariners (90-72) at No. 2 Yankees (94-68)

Assuming the Wild Card Series in our scenario play out the same way they did in reality, reseeding after that round sends the 87-win Tigers to Toronto, not the 94-win Yankees. Also, while the Mariners received a bye because we're keeping everything the same before the Division Series, they have to go on the road for the ALDS because they finished four games behind the Yankees. Their reward only goes so far.

There is something to be said for winning your division, but the best teams should be rewarded via postseason seeding. I don't think that's an unreasonable position. The two best teams in the league should get byes, and the No. 1 seed should never get stuck facing the team with the league's second-best record in the Division Series, like the Blue Jays and Yankees last year. 

The wonky seeding situation may not be a problem much longer. The upcoming collective bargaining agreement could change the postseason format once again, perhaps upping the field to 14 teams, and make the reseeding issue moot. Right now, though, the best teams aren't always rewarded. The No. 1 team will have to play the No. 2 or No. 3 team in the AL this year, while the rest of the league's woebegone contenders get an ostensibly easier path through the ALCS.