Editing Major League Baseball (section)

==Season structure==
{{Main|Major League Baseball schedule|List of Major League Baseball seasons}}

===Spring training===
{{Main|Spring training}}
[[File:Los Angeles Dodgers spring training at Holman Stadium, Dodgertown, 1994.jpg|thumb|A Grapefruit League game at the former [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] camp in [[Vero Beach]], Florida]]
[[Spring training]] is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Teams hold training camps in the states of Arizona and Florida, where the early warm weather allows teams to practice and play without worrying about the late winter cold. Spring training allows new players to compete for roster and position spots and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play. The teams that hold spring training in Arizona are grouped into the [[Cactus League]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cactusleague.com/|title=Cactus League|access-date=October 13, 2013|archive-date=September 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921005903/http://www.cactusleague.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> while teams that hold camp in Florida are known as the [[Grapefruit League]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.floridagrapefruitleague.com/|title=Florida's Grapefruit League|access-date=October 13, 2013|archive-date=October 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014211107/http://www.floridagrapefruitleague.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Spring training typically lasts almost two months, starting in mid-February and running until just before the season-opening day, traditionally the first week of April. As pitchers benefit from a longer training period, pitchers and catchers begin spring training several days before the rest of the team.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/spring-training|title=MLB: Spring Training|access-date=October 13, 2013|archive-date=October 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012175142/http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/spring-training|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Regular season===
Each team plays 162 games per season. A team's schedule is typically organized into three-game [[series (baseball)|series]], sets of consecutive games against the same opponent, with occasional two- or four-game series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/schedule/index.jsp?tcid=mm_mlb_schedule#date=10/14/2013|title=MLB Schedule|work=[[MLB.com]]|access-date=October 14, 2013|archive-date=April 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423171437/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/schedule/index.jsp?tcid=mm_mlb_schedule#date=10/14/2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Postponed games or continuations of suspended games can result in an ad hoc one-game or five-game series. All games of a series are usually hosted by the same team and multiple series are typically grouped together. I.e, a team usually hosts several series in a row, called a home-stand, and follows that by going on several road series in a row. Teams generally play games five to seven days per week. Most games are scheduled at night, although teams will often play day games on Opening Day, holidays, and for the last game of a series to allow teams extra time to travel to their next opponent. Sunday games are generally played during the afternoon, allowing teams to travel to their next destination prior to a Monday night game.

In the current three-division structure, each team plays 13 games against each of its four divisional opponents. It plays one home series and one away series, amounting to six or seven games, against the 10 other teams in its league. A team also plays 3-game series with all the other teams in the other league, alternating home teams each year. Furthermore, each team has an inter-league "natural rival" (in many cases its counterpart in the same metro area) with which it plays two home games and two away games each year.

With an odd number of teams in each league (15), it is necessary to have two teams participate in inter-league play for most days in the season, except when two or more teams have a day off. Each team plays 20 inter-league games throughout the season, usually with just one inter-league game per day, but for one weekend in late May, all teams will participate in an inter-league series. Before 2013, inter-league play was structured differently: there would be one weekend in mid-May and another period consisting typically of the last two-thirds of June in which all teams played inter-league games (save for two NL teams each day), and no inter-league games were scheduled outside those dates. (Before 2013, season-long inter-league play was not necessary, because each league had an even number of teams. In 2013, the Houston Astros moved to the American League, so that each league would have [[#League organization|15 teams]].) Prior to the adoption of the universal designated hitter in 2022, whether the DH was in use depended on whether the home team was from the AL, where the DH was used, or the NL, where it was not.

Starting with the 2023 season, the scheduling formula changed, with each team playing at least one series against every other team every year. Each team plays 13 games against teams in the same division, with one 3-game and one 4-game series at each park, six or seven games against teams within the same league but in other divisions, with one 3-game (or 4-game series) at each park, and one 3-game series against teams in the other league, alternating home teams each year, except for each team's designated inter-league rival, which will continue to consist of two 2-game series at each of the teams' home parks.

Beginning with the 2022 season, teams compete for the six [[playoff]] berths in their respective leagues. To secure a berth, a team must either win its [[MLB#League organization|division]] or capture a [[MLB Wild Card|wild card spot]] by having one of the three best records among the non-winners in its entire league.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/index.jsp?tcid=mm_mlb_standings#20130930|title=MLB: Regular Season|work=[[MLB.com]]|access-date=October 14, 2013|archive-date=June 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602232223/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/index.jsp?tcid=mm_mlb_standings#20130930|url-status=live}}</ref> With the adoption of a third wild card, the former practice of breaking ties with an additional regular-season game, known as [[Game 163]], was dropped in favor of a tie-breaker formula.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lacques |first=Gabe |title=RIP Game 163: MLB's new postseason system ends storied one-game tiebreaker. A 'bummer' for baseball? |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2022/08/18/mlb-playoffs-tiebreaker-one-game-163-standings/10351609002/ |access-date=February 12, 2025 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref>

===All-Star Game===
{{Main|Major League Baseball All-Star Game}}
[[File:President attends the 32nd All-Star Baseball Game, throws out first ball. Speaker of the House John W. McCormack... - NARA - 194250.jpg|right|thumb|President [[John F. Kennedy]] throwing out the [[first pitch]] at the 1962 All-Star Game at [[DC Stadium]]]]
In early-to-mid July, just after the midway point of the season, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game is held during a four-day break from the regular-season schedule. The All-Star Game features a team of players from the American League (AL)—led by the manager of the previous AL World Series team—and a team of players from the National League (NL), similarly managed, in an exhibition game. From 1959 to 1962, two games were held each season, one was held in July and one was held in August. The designated-hitter rule was used in the All-Star Game for the first time in 1989. Following games used a DH when the game was played in an AL ballpark. Since 2010, the DH rule has been in effect regardless of venue.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/sports/baseball/29bats.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Rosters Expanded For the All-Star Game|date=April 28, 2010|access-date=May 12, 2010|archive-date=July 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701054626/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/sports/baseball/29bats.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The first official All-Star Game was held as part of the [[1933 World's Fair]] in Chicago, Illinois, and was the idea of [[Arch Ward]], then sports editor for ''[[The Chicago Tribune]]''.<ref name = asgmenu>{{cite web|url=http://baseball-almanac.com/asgmenu.shtml|title=All-Star Game History|publisher=[[Baseball Almanac]]|access-date=September 7, 2008|archive-date=August 15, 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000815082531/http://baseball-almanac.com/asgmenu.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> Initially intended to be a one-time event, its great success resulted in making the game an annual one. Ward's contribution was recognized by Major League Baseball in 1962 with the creation of the "Arch Ward Trophy", given to the All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player each year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060710&content_id=1550905&vkey=allstar2006&fext=.jsp|last=Newman|first=Mark|title=All-Star MVP Awaits Your Vote|work=[[MLB.com]]|date=July 10, 2006|access-date=June 13, 2011|archive-date=March 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326102953/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060710&content_id=1550905&vkey=allstar2006&fext=.jsp|url-status=dead}}</ref> (In 1970, it was renamed the Commissioner's Trophy, until 1985, when the name change was reversed. In 2002, it was renamed the [[Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award]].)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_mvpa.shtml|title=All Star Game Most Valuable Player Award|publisher=Baseball Almanac|accessdate=June 1, 2024}}</ref>

Beginning in 1947, the eight position players in each team's starting lineup have been voted into the game by fans.<ref name = asgmenu/> The fan voting was discontinued after a 1957 ballot-box-stuffing scandal in Cincinnati: seven of the eight slots originally went to [[Cincinnati Reds|Reds]] players, two of whom were subsequently removed from the lineup to make room for Willie Mays and [[Hank Aaron]]. Fan voting was reinstated in 1970 and has continued ever since, including [[All-Star Final Vote|internet voting]] in recent years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hickoksports.com/history/mlballst.shtml|access-date=July 28, 2007|title=Sports History: MLB All-Star Game|date=July 12, 2007|publisher=Hickocksports.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611232615/http://www.hickoksports.com/history/mlballst.shtml|archive-date=June 11, 2007}}</ref>

The [[2002 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|2002 contest in Milwaukee]] controversially ended in an 11-inning tie when both managers ran out of pitchers. In response, starting in 2003 the league which wins the All-Star game received home-field advantage in the World Series: the league champion hosted the first two games at its own ballpark as well as the last two (if necessary). The National League did not win an All-Star game and thus gain a home-field advantage until 2010; it was able to overcome this disadvantage and win in three of the seven World Series from 2003 to 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2003_WS.shtml|title=2003 World Series (4–2): Florida Marlins (91–71) over New York Yankees (101–61)|access-date=September 6, 2008|work=baseball-reference.com|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112000815/https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2003_WS.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2006_WS.shtml|title=2006 World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over Detroit Tigers (4–1)|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|access-date=September 24, 2020|archive-date=April 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429202725/https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2006_WS.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> This was discontinued after the 2016 season.<ref name="WS_homefield">{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN13R2OC/|title=MLB changes World Series home-field format rules|publisher=Reuters|date=December 2, 2016|website=Reuters.com|accessdate=June 1, 2024}}</ref>

MLB All-Stars from both leagues have worn uniforms from their respective teams at the game with one exception. In the [[1933 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1933 All-Star Game]], the National League All-Star Team members wore special gray uniforms with "National League" written in navy blue letters across the front of the jersey.<ref name="The World Series and Highlights of Baseball">{{cite book|last=Lamont|first=Buchanan|title=The World Series and Highlights of Baseball|publisher=E. P. Dutton & Co.|year=1951|page=120}}</ref><ref name="Baseball uniforms of the 20th century">{{cite book|last=Okkonen|first=Marc|title=Baseball uniforms of the 20th century: The official major league baseball guide|publisher=Sterling Pub. Co.|year=1991|page=[https://archive.org/details/baseballuniforms00okko/page/7 7]|isbn=978-0-8069-8490-2|url=https://archive.org/details/baseballuniforms00okko/page/7}}</ref>

===Postseason===
{{Main|Major League Baseball postseason}}
{{see also|World Series|List of World Series champions}}
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin-left:1em; float:right"
|-
|+'''World Series records'''
|-
!scope="col"|Team
!scope="col"|Series<br />won
!scope="col"|Last<br />Series<br />won
!scope="col"|Series<br />played
|-
|scope="row"|[[New York Yankees]] (AL)
|27
|2009
|41
|- 
|scope="row"|[[St. Louis Cardinals]] (NL)
|11
|2011
|19
|-
|scope="row"|[[Athletics (baseball)|Athletics]] (AL)
|9
|1989
|14
|-
|scope="row"|[[Boston Red Sox]] (AL)
|9
|2018
|13
|- 
| scope="row" |[[Los Angeles Dodgers]] (NL)
|8
|2024
|22
|- 
|scope="row"|[[San Francisco Giants]] (NL)
|8
|2014
|20
|- 
|scope="row"|[[Cincinnati Reds]] (NL)
|5
|1990
|9
|- 
|scope="row"|[[Pittsburgh Pirates]] (NL)
|5
|1979
|7
|-
|scope="row"|[[Detroit Tigers]] (AL)
|4
|1984
|11
|-
|scope="row"|[[Atlanta Braves]] (NL)
|4
|2021
|10
|- 
|scope="row"|[[Chicago Cubs]] (NL)
|3
|2016
|11
|- 
|scope="row"|[[Baltimore Orioles]] (AL)
|3
|1983
|7
|- 
|scope="row"|[[Minnesota Twins]] (AL)
|3
|1991
|6
|- 
|scope="row"|[[Chicago White Sox]] (AL)
|3
|2005
|5
|-
|scope="row"|[[Philadelphia Phillies]] (NL)
|2
|2008
|8
|-
|scope="row"|[[Cleveland Guardians]] (AL)
|2
|1948
|6
|-
|scope="row"|[[Houston Astros]] <small>(NL to AL, 2013)</small>
|2 <sup>[AL]</sup>
|2022
|5<br />(4 <sup>[AL]</sup>, 1 <sup>[NL]</sup>)
|- 
|scope="row"|[[New York Mets]] (NL)
|2
|1986
|5
|-
|scope="row"|[[Kansas City Royals]] (AL)
|2
|2015
|4
|-
|scope="row"|[[Miami Marlins]] (NL)
|2
|2003
|2
|-
|scope="row"|[[Toronto Blue Jays]] (AL)
|2
|1993
|2
|-
|scope="row"|[[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] (AL)
|1
|2023
|3
|-
|scope="row"|[[Arizona Diamondbacks]] (NL)
|1
|2001
|2
|- 
|scope="row"|[[Washington Nationals]] (NL)
|1
|2019
|1
|- 
|scope="row"|[[Los Angeles Angels]] (AL)
|1
|2002
|1
|-
|scope="row"|[[Tampa Bay Rays]] (AL)
|0
|&nbsp;
|2
|- 
|scope="row"|[[San Diego Padres]] (NL)
|0
|&nbsp;
|2
|-
|scope="row"|[[Colorado Rockies]] (NL)
|0
|&nbsp;
|1
|-
|scope="row"|[[Milwaukee Brewers]] <small>(AL to NL, 1998)</small>
|0
|&nbsp;
|1 <sup>[AL]</sup>
|-
|scope="row"|[[Seattle Mariners]] (AL)
|0
|&nbsp;
|0
|- 
|}

The regular season ends after the first Sunday in October (or the last Sunday in September), after which twelve teams enter the postseason playoffs. These twelve teams consist of the six division champions and six "wild-card" teams: the team with the best overall [[win–loss record]] in each of the six divisions, and the three teams in each league with the best records other than the division champions. Four rounds of series of games are played to determine the champion:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/2022-mlb-playoffs-new-postseason-format-explained-and-why-there-are-no-more-game-163-tiebreakers/|title=2022 MLB playoffs: New postseason format explained, and why there are no more Game 163 tiebreakers|last=Perry|first=Dayn|publisher=CBS Interactive Inc|date=October 5, 2022|website=CBSSports.com|accessdate=June 1, 2024}}</ref>

# [[Wild Card Series]], a best of three games playoff between the lowest seeded division champion and three "wild-card teams", the higher seeds will host all three games 
# [[American League Division Series]] and [[National League Division Series]], each a best-of-five-games series.
# [[American League Championship Series]] and [[National League Championship Series]], each a best-of-seven-games series played between the winning teams from the Division Series. The league champions are referred to as the [[Pennant (sports)|pennant]] winners.
# [[World Series]], a best-of-seven-games series played between the [[Pennant (sports)|pennant]] winners of each league.
[[File:World Series Trophy (48262268286).jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.75|The [[Commissioner's Trophy (MLB)|Commissioner's Trophy]] is awarded annually to the winning team of the [[World Series]], the league's championship series that concludes the postseason.]]
Within each league, the division winners are the 1, 2, and 3-seeds, based on win–loss records. The teams with the first, second, and third best records among non-division winners will be seeded 4, 5, and 6 respectively. Throughout the postseason, home-field advantage is awarded to the team with the higher win-loss record, with tiebreakers being applied if necessary. In the [[Wild Card Series]], the 3-seed will host the 6-seed, and the 4-seed will host the 5-seed, with the winners advancing to the [[Division Series]]. Unlike the [[NFL]], there is no reseeding between each series. In the Division Series, the 1-seed goes up against the 4/5-seed  and the 2-seed goes up against the 3/6-seed. The winners of those matches will compete in their respective [[League Championship Series]] for their [[Pennant (sports)#Baseball|league pennant]], and the pennant winners will advance to the World Series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1784642-mlb-playoff-format-2013-tiebreak-scenarios-wild-card-games-and-seedings|title=MLB Playoff Format 2013: Tiebreaker Scenarios, Wild Card Games and Seedings|website=[[Bleacher Report]]|date=September 23, 2013|access-date=October 13, 2013|archive-date=October 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001165750/http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1784642-mlb-playoff-format-2013-tiebreak-scenarios-wild-card-games-and-seedings|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2017, home-field advantage in the World Series is determined by regular-season records of the two league champions, replacing a system used for the prior 14 seasons where the champion of the league that won the All-Star Game would receive home-field advantage.<ref name="WS_homefield"/>

The team with home-field advantage in the Wild Card Series will host all three games, and subsequent series' will split home fields between the two teams in a 2-2-1 format in the Division Series and a 2-3-2 format in the League Championship Series and World Series, with the advantaged team hosting games 1 and 2, as well as 6 and 7 (if necessary). With this format, the home-field advantage does not usually play a large role in the postseason unless the series goes to its maximum number of games. However, because the first two games of a postseason series are hosted by the same team, a team starting with two wins will likely have momentum heading into the venue switch.<ref name="[[World Series]]">[[World Series]], sec. 3.2.2 (Game-by-Game), note 2; as of 2008, the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers are the last team to win a World Series after losing the first two games on the road.</ref><ref name="alds">{{cite web|url=http://pressbox.mlb.com/pressbox/news/pressbox_story.jsp?ymd=20070514&content_id=1964536&vkey=pressbox&fext=.jsp|title=Major League Baseball announces revamped postseason schedule|access-date=September 7, 2008|year=2007|website=[[MLB.com]]|archive-date=April 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407202248/http://pressbox.mlb.com/pressbox/news/pressbox_story.jsp?ymd=20070514&content_id=1964536&vkey=pressbox&fext=.jsp|url-status=dead}}</ref>