With the expansion of the MLB playoffs to 12 teams this season, one major change made to the playoff spot determinations is how tiebreakers are handled. In the past, if two or more teams were tied for a playoff spot and at least one would not make the playoffs if they lost the tiebreaker, the teams would play a tiebreaker game (or games) to determine the playoff spot(s). However, with the introduction of two Wild Card series in each league, there’s no longer a gap to get in tiebreaker games before the playoffs. As a result, beginning with this season, playoff spots will be determined by tiebreaker scenarios.
A look at the tiebreaker scenarios in the NL Wild Card race
