How do baseball playoffs work?

Answer 1

there's two leagues (AL and NL) each of which has three divisions (east, central and west).

at the end of the year, whichever team in each division has the best record, they earn a playoff slot.

Also, the best 2nd place team in the AL and NL is awarded a "wild card" playoff slot (more on that in a bit.)

This results in 8 total playoff teams.

The first round is called the Division Series, and there are two of them in each league (4 series, by a total of eight teams).

the winners of the two AL division series' then play each other in the AL Championship series, and likewise in the NL.

The winners of the ALCS and the NLCS then play each other in the World Series.

Whoever wins the world series is the champs!

The "Seeding" goes like this:

The best team in each league plays the Wild card team in round 1, UNLESS they are in the same division; in which case the best team plays the next-worst playoff team in his league. (the remaining two teams obviously play in the other LCS).

Hope this helps!