As the lockout-delayed 2022 MLB regular season enters its last month, baseball fans are getting closer to see the new, 12-team playoff format resulting from CBA discussions.
The division winners with the two best records get a bye while the third division winner and three wild card teams are pitted against each other.
Once the playoffs proceed past the wildcard round, the format remains the same as years past.
This historical playoff race starts in the NL East, where the division-leading New York Mets boast slugger first baseman Pete Alonso, ace pitching tandem Max Scherzer and Jacob DeGrom, a top closer in baseball in Edwin Diaz, and a returned-to-form star shortstop in Francisco Lindor.