You may not have realized it now that football season is upon us, but: The MLB postseason is nearly upon us.
We’re around two weeks away from the season finale on October 1, when every team will play on the same day, and there might be some playoff implications on that day given who tight a few races are.
So now is a perfect time to dive in and take a look at who’s in, who’s out, who’s still alive and who’s got a shot.
Let’s go division by division before we talk about the thrilling Wild Card races in each of the American and National Leagues.
AL East
Clinched spots: Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays
Still alive: Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox
Eliminated: No one
“Still alive” only applies to the Wild Card in this case. The Rays and O’s are two games out and are trying to win the division.
AL Central
Clinched spots: No one
Still alive: Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers
Eliminated: Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals
The Guardians are seven games out, so it’s a matter of time until the Twins clinch.
AL West
Clinched spots: No one
Still alive: Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners
Eliminated: Los Angeles Angels, Oakland A’s
The division is very much up for grabs, with the Mariners 2.5 games out, the Rangers 1.5 back and the Astros surging.
AL Wild Card
The Rays are in the playoffs no matter what. As of writing this, the Blue Jays and Rangers have the other spots … but the Mariners are right there (2.5 GB), and who knows if the Yankees (6.5 GB) could make a miracle run?
NL East
Clinched spots: Atlanta Braves
Still alive: Philadelphia Phillies, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Washington Nationals
Eliminated: No one
The Braves sewed up this division like a month ago.
NL Central
Clinched spots: No one
Still alive: Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals
Eliminated: No one
The Brewers are 6.5 games ahead of the Cubs, so barring a collapse, they may grab the division.
NL West
Clinched spots: Los Angeles Dodgers
Still alive: Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres
Eliminated: Colorado Rockies
The Dodgers easily won the division. Now, we go to a very WILD Wild Card …
NL Wild Card
WHEW. The Phillies and Diamondbacks own the top two spots, but the Marlins, Cubs and Reds are within 0.5 games, and the Giants are just two games out. The Padres and Pirates are six and eight games out, so they’re probably done.
But, wow, this should be fun.
