Division Series History by Baseball Almanac

Division Series History

October belongs to Major League Baseball. Why? Because that is when the postseason begins for the top teams that make the playoffs. Until 1969, when there were no divisions, the team finishing with the best record in each league won that league's pennant and faced the other league's pennant winner in the Fall Classic.

In 1969, however, the sport experienced a major shift in its post-season process after both the American and National Leagues added two more teams each and reorganized into two divisions, the East and West. As a result, the winners in each division were now required to play each other in a best-of-five League Championship Series to determine who would advance to the World Series. In 1985, the format was changed to a best-of-seven contest, where it has remained to this day.

Technically, the first division series were in the strike-interrupted year of 1981. Due to the two-month strike, Major League owners elected to split the 1981 season into two halves, with the first-place teams from each half in each division meeting in a best-of-five divisional playoff series. The winner of each of these series was then the division winner facing the other division winner in the League Championship Series. However, there would be no more division series until 1995.

Beginning with the 1994 season, baseball added a third division, the Central, to accommodate the introduction of expansion teams and realignment. Because of the strike that season, there were no postseason games. Thus the Divisional Series premiered in 1995, adding another elimination round to the playoffs. The American League Division Series and National League Division Series have given birth to many memorable moments.

How does it currently work? The Divisional Series is a best-of-five series, featuring the three division winners and a wild-card team. Typically, the wild-card team plays the division leader with the best winning percentage in one series, and the other two division leaders play the other series. However, if the wild-card team and the division leader with the best record are from the same division, the wild-card team plays the next winningest division leader, and the remaining two division leaders play. The teams with the better winning percentage get homefield advantage (home team for games 1, 2 and 5). The two Division Series winners move on to the best-of-seven League Championship Series to determine the pennant winner and league representative for the World Series.

"Perhaps this latest wild-card wackiness will prove to be little more than an unfortunate rain delay, but don't wait till next year; this may be our last and best September." - Columnist Walter Shapiro in Time Magazine (October 1993)

Division Series History 1981 & 1995 - 2017
1981 American League Division Playoff				1981 National League Division Playoff
Match-Up	Wins	Match-Up	Wins	Match-Up	Wins	Match-Up	Wins
New York East (1-0)	3	Oakland West (1-0)	3	Montreal East (1-0)	3	Los Angeles West (1-0)	3
Milwaukee East (0-1)	2	Kansas City West (0-1)	0	Philadelphia East (0-1)	2	Houston West (0-1)	2
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
1995 American League Division Series				1995 National League Division Series
Match-Up	Wins	Match-Up	Wins	Match-Up	Wins	Match-Up	Wins
Cleveland Central (1-0)	3	Seattle West (1-0)	3	Cincinnati Central (1-0)	3	Atlanta East (1-0)	3
Boston East (0-1)	0	New York Wildcard (1-1)	2	Los Angeles West (1-1)	0	Colorado Wildcard (0-1)	1
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
1996 American League Division Series				1996 National League Division Series
New York East (2-1)	3	Baltimore Wildcard (1-0)	3	St. Louis Central (1-0)	3	Atlanta East (2-0)	3
Texas West (0-1)	1	Cleveland Central (1-1)	1	San Diego West (0-1)	0	Los Angeles Wildcard (1-2)	0
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
1997 American League Division Series				1997 National League Division Series
Cleveland Central (2-1)	3	Baltimore East (2-0)	3	Atlanta East (3-0)	3	Florida Wildcard (1-0)	3
New York Wildcard (2-2)	2	Seattle West (1-1)	1	Houston Central (0-2)	0	San Francisco West (0-1)	0
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
1998 American League Division Series				1998 National League Division Series
Cleveland Central (3-1)	3	New York East (3-2)	3	Atlanta East (4-0)	3	San Diego West (1-1)	3
Boston Wildcard (0-2)	1	Texas West (0-2)	0	Chicago Wildcard (0-1)	0	Houston Central (0-3)	1
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
1999 American League Division Series				1999 National League Division Series
New York East (4-2)	3	Boston Wildcard (1-2)	3	New York Wildcard (1-0)	3	Atlanta East (5-0)	3
Texas West (0-3)	0	Cleveland Central (3-2)	2	Arizona West (0-1)	1	Houston Central (0-4)	1
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2000 American League Division Series				2000 National League Division Series
Seattle Wildcard (2-1)	3	New York East (5-2)	3	New York Wildcard (2-0)	3	St. Louis Central (2-0)	3
Chicago Central (0-1)	0	Oakland West (1-1)	2	San Francisco West (0-2)	1	Atlanta East (5-1)	0
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2001 American League Division Series				2001 National League Division Series
Seattle West (3-1)	3	New York East (6-2)	3	Arizona West (1-1)	3	Atlanta East (6-1)	3
Cleveland Central (3-3)	2	Oakland Wildcard (1-2)	2	St. Louis Wildcard (2-1)	2	Houston Central (0-5)	0
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2002 American League Division Series				2002 National League Division Series
Minnesota Central (1-0)	3	Anaheim Wildcard (1-0)	3	San Francisco Wildcard (1-2)	3	St. Louis Central (3-1)	3
Oakland West (1-3)	2	New York East (6-3)	1	Atlanta East (6-2)	2	Arizona West (1-2)	0
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2003 American League Division Series				2003 National League Division Series
New York East (7-3)	3	Boston Wildcard (2-2)	3	Florida Wildcard (2-0)	3	Chicago Central (1-1)	3
Minnesota Central (1-1)	1	Oakland West (1-4)	2	San Francisco West (1-3)	1	Atlanta East (6-3)	2
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2004 American League Division Series				2004 National League Division Series
New York East (8-3)	3	Boston Wildcard (3-2)	3	St. Louis Central (4-1)	3	Houston Wildcard (1-5)	3
Minnesota Central (1-2)	1	Anaheim West (1-1)	0	Los Angeles West (1-3)	1	Atlanta East (6-4)	2
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2005 American League Division Series				2005 National League Division Series
Anaheim West (2-1)	3	Chicago Central (1-1)	3	St. Louis Central (5-1)	3	Houston Wildcard (2-5)	3
New York East (8-4)	2	Boston Wildcard (3-3)	0	San Diego West (1-2)	0	Atlanta East (6-5)	1
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2006 American League Division Series				2006 National League Division Series
Detroit Wildcard (1-0)	3	Oakland West (2-4)	3	St. Louis Central (6-1)	3	New York East (3-0)	3
New York East (8-5)	1	Minnesota Central (1-3)	0	San Diego West (1-3)	1	Los Angeles Wildcard (1-4)	0
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2007 American League Division Series				2007 National League Division Series
Boston East (4-3)	3	Cleveland Central (4-3)	3	Arizona West (2-2)	3	Colorado Wildcard (1-1)	3
Anaheim West (2-2)	0	New York Wildcard (8-6)	1	Chicago Central (1-2)	0	Philadelphia East (0-2)	0
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2008 American League Division Series				2008 National League Division Series
Boston Wildcard (5-3)	3	Tampa Bay East (1-0)	3	Los Angeles West (2-4)	3	Philadelphia East (1-2)	3
Anaheim West (2-3)	1	Chicago Central (1-2)	1	Chicago Central (1-3)	0	Milwaukee Wildcard (0-2)	1
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2009 American League Division Series				2009 National League Division Series
New York East (9-6)	3	Anaheim West (3-3)	3	Los Angeles West (3-4)	3	Philadelphia East (2-2)	3
Minnesota Central (1-4)	0	Boston Wildcard (5-4)	0	St. Louis Central (6-2)	0	Colorado Wildcard (1-2)	1
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2010 American League Division Series				2010 National League Division Series
New York Wildcard (10-6)	3	Texas West (1-3)	3	Philadelphia East (3-2)	3	San Francisco West (2-3)	3
Minnesota Central (1-4)	0	Tampa Bay East (1-0)	2	Cincinnati Central (1-0)	0	Atlanta Wildcard (6-5)	1
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2011 American League Division Series				2011 National League Division Series
Detroit Central (2-0)	3	Texas West (2-3)	3	Milwaukee Central (1-2)	3	St. Louis Wildcard (7-2)	3
New York East (10-7)	2	Tampa Bay Wildcard (1-1)	1	Arizona West (2-3)	2	Philadelphia East (3-3)	2
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2012 American League Division Series				2012 National League Division Series
Detroit Central (3-0)	3	New York East (11-7)	3	San Francisco West (3-3)	3	St. Louis Wildcard (8-2)	3
Oakland West (2-5)	2	Baltimore Wildcard (2-1)	2	Cincinnati Central (1-1)	2	Washington East (0-1)	2
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2013 American League Division Series				2013 National League Division Series
Detroit Central (4-0)	3	Boston East (6-4)	3	Los Angeles West (4-4)	3	St. Louis Central (9-2)	3
Oakland West (2-6)	2	Tampa Bay Wildcard (1-2)	1	Atlanta East (6-6)	1	Pittsburgh Wildcard (0-1)	2
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2014 American League Division Series				2014 National League Division Series
Baltimore East (3-1)	3	Kansas City Wildcard (1-1)	3	San Francisco Wildcard (4-3)	3	St. Louis Central (10-2)	3
Detroit Central (4-1)	0	Anaheim West (3-4)	0	Washington East (0-2)	1	Los Angeles West (4-5)	1
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2015 American League Division Series				2015 National League Division Series
Toronto East (1-0)	3	Kansas City Central (2-1)	3	Chicago Wildcard (2-3)	3	New York East (4-0)	3
Texas West (2-4)	2	Houston Wildcard (2-6)	2	St. Louis Central (10-3)	1	Los Angeles West (4-6)	2
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2016 American League Division Series				2016 National League Division Series
Toronto Wildcard (2-0)	3	Cleveland Central (5-3)	3	Chicago Central (3-3)	3	Los Angeles West (5-6)	3
Texas West (2-5)	0	Boston East (6-5)	0	San Francisco Wildcard (4-4)	1	Washington East (0-3)	2
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
2017 American League Division Series				2017 National League Division Series
TBD TBD (x-x)	x	TBD TBD (x-x)	x	TBD TBD (x-x)	x	TBD TBD (x-x)	x
TBD TBD (x-x)	x	TBD TBD (x-x)	x	TBD TBD (x-x)	x	TBD TBD (x-x)	x
Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score		Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 3 Box Score Game 4 Box Score Game 5 Box Score
Match-Up	Wins	Match-Up	Wins	Match-Up	Wins	Match-Up	Wins
American League Division Series				National League Division Series
Division Series History : 1981 & 1995 - 2017

Did you know that during the 1892 season the National League — which boasted twelve teams at the time — had made plans for two six-team divisions?

Divisons / alignments have changed many times since 1969 and writer Tom Verduccii of Sports Illustrated once said in 1995, "The format is harder to understand than the essay question on a Russian literature exam. The American League's official media guide, the Red Book, even had it wrong! When an Indian official telephoned both the American and National league offices to find out which league champion has the home field advantage in the World Series, he received two different answers."

How do you feel about divisional play? Is it now a mute issue? Could it still be made even better? Should another round of playoffs be made? Should another format be used? Share your opinions on Baseball Fever.

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