MLB Season

The regular season consists of 162 games, 81 home games and 81 away games (also referred to as “homestands” and “road trips”). See Sports-at-a-Glance for the
season timeline.

MLB Post-Season (Playoffs and World Series)

When the regular season ends after the first Sunday in October, 8 teams enter the post-season playoffs. 6 teams are division champions. The remaining two “wild-card” spots are filled by one team from the American League and one team from the National League that is not a division champion, but have the best second-place records. In both the American League and the National League, the division winners are the #1, #2, and #3 seeds, based on their win/loss records. The wild-card team is the #4 seed, regardless of its record. Three rounds of games are played to determine the World Series champion:

- In the first round, the American League Division Series and the National League Division Series are played. Each is a
best-of-five-games series.

- In the second round, the American League Championship Series and National League Championship Series are played.
Each is a best-of-seven-games series played between the surviving teams from the American League Division Series and the National League Division Series.

- In the third and final round, the World Series, a best-of-seven-games series, played between the champions of the American League and National League.

The team belonging to the League that won the mid-season All-Star Game is awarded home-field advantage in the World Series.

MLB All-Star Game

The MLB All-Star Game, also known as the “Midsummer Classic”, is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers. The All-Star Game usually occurs on the second Tuesday in July and marks the symbolic halfway point in the MLB season (though not always the exact halfway point). The first three days of this week are called the “All-Star Break.” The game’s location traditionally alternates between an American League city and a National League city every year and the location is decided by the MLB Commissioner’s office. Fans vote for the all-star players, with a number of slots held open for the game’s coaches in order to ensure that all 30 teams are represented. There is also a Home Run Derby held the day before the All-Star Game; players are self-selected for this competition.

MLB Draft

The First-Year Player Draft (also known as the “Rule 4 Draft”) is MLB’s primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs, to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season’s standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams that lost free agents (players who are no longer under contract) in the previous off-season may be awarded “compensatory” picks. The MLB First-Year Player Draft has historically had far less media exposure than its counterparts in the other professional leagues, as college baseball is not as widely popular as other college sports, and baseball players are not expected to have as immediate an impact as football, basketball, or hockey players drafted to professional teams.

MLB Hall of Fame

The National Baseball Hall of Fame (or “The Hall”) is located in Cooperstown, New York, and is operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball, the display of baseball-related artifacts and exhibits, and the honoring of individuals — players, managers, umpires, and executives — who have excelled in playing, managing, or serving the sport. The Hall of Fame’s motto is “Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations.” Players are currently inducted into the Hall of Fame through election by either the Baseball Writers Association of America (“BBWAA”), or the Veterans Committee, which is now composed of living Hall of Famers. Additional committees are also regularly formed to make special selections. The induction ceremony is usually held on the last Sunday in July.

MLB Major Annual Awards

Currently awarded by MLB and by designated media organizations. Some awards are made in both Leagues:

MLB Spring Training Locations

See Professional Sports – MLB Spring Training

MLB Players Association

The Major League Baseball Players Association, or MLBPA, is the union of professional major-league baseball players. The Executive Director is Michael Weiner, and his office is in New York City.

MLB Commissioner

The current MLB Commissioner is Bud Selig, and he has offices in New York City and Milwaukee.

Minor League Baseball

Minor League Baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below that of Major League Baseball. Minor league baseball also goes by the nicknames the “farm system,” “farm club,” or “farm team(s).” All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses, and many are members of Minor League Baseball, an umbrella organization for leagues that have agreements to operate as affiliates of Major League Baseball. Several leagues, known as independent leagues, do not have any links to Major League Baseball, and thus are not members of organized baseball. Each Minor Baseball League affiliated with Minor League Baseball comprises teams that generally are independently owned and operated, but always, with the exception of the Mexican League, directly affiliated with (and occasionally named after) one major league team through a standardized Player Development Contract (PDC). Today, 20 Minor Baseball Leagues operate with 246 member baseball clubs in large, medium, and small towns, as well as the suburbs of major cities, across the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela. The Minor Baseball Leagues are categorized based on the level of player skill development as:

Triple-A (AAA)
Double-A (AA)
Class A, including Advanced (A-Adv), Class A (A), Class-A Short Season (A-SS)
Advanced Rookie/Rookie (R)

*(The Arizona Fall League is an off-season league owned and operated by Major League Baseball that operates during the fall in Arizona, United States at five spring training complexes. The Arizona Fall League attracts many of the top prospects in Minor League Baseball. The league is designed for these prospects to refine their skills and perform in game settings in front of major and minor league baseball scouts and team executives).

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