MLB Announces Wild Card Tiebreaker Sequence
ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) -- The AL Wild Card is still undecided after 159 games. Major League Baseball released a plan on Friday should the same be true after 162.
At the start of Friday night, three teams are still in contention for the two AL Wild Card spots: Tampa Bay, Cleveland, and Texas.
Tampa Bay (90-69) currently sits atop the Wild Card standings, with Cleveland one game back, and Texas trailing by two.
A two-team tie
In the event of a two-team tie for one Wild Card berth, the tiebreaker game would be played on Monday and hosted by the club that won the season series.
Texas lost the season series to Cleveland (1-5) but defeated Tampa Bay (4-3). Thus Texas would host Tampa Bay or travel to Cleveland if needed.
A three-way tie
If all three teams are tied at the end of the regular season, the tie will be broken using a two-game system. The teams are designated as Club A, Club B, and Club C.
Because each team won one head-to-head series and lost another, the designations are determined by the combined head-to-head winning percentages among the teams.
Club A would host Club B on Monday, with the winner earning a Wild Card berth. The loser would then travel to Club C to determine the second Wild Card on Tuesday.
Cleveland had the best winning percentage and chose to be Club A. Tampa Bay chose to be Club B, leaving Texas as Club C.
In this scenario, Texas only has one opportunity to earn a Wild Card berth, though it comes at home. The Rangers would host the loser of Cleveland-Tampa Bay in Arlington on Tuesday.
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