Wild Card Game
The Wild Card Game is a one-game postseason "play-in" between the two wild card teams in each league. Beginning with the 2012 postseason, the winner of each Wild Card Game proceeds to its league's Division Series to play the team with the best regular season record, regardless of division.
In 2014, the winners of both leagues' Wild Card Game reached the World Series, with the San Francisco Giants becoming the first World Series Champions to have played in the game.
The Wild Card Game was scrapped in 2020 as a result of the special postseason format adopted due to the shortened season resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, all postseason teams took part in the "Wild Card Series", pitting the three division winners in each league and the top second-place team hosting the other two second-place teams, and the next two best teams in best-of-three format. The winners then moved on to the Division Series, as per other years.
Contents
American League Wild Card Game[edit]
Year | Date | Home team | Record | Manager | Score | Road team | Record | Manager | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | October 5 | Texas Rangers | 93-69 | Ron Washington | 1-5 | Baltimore Orioles | 93-69 | Buck Showalter | 1 |
2013 | October 1 | Cleveland Indians | 92-70 | Terry Francona | 0-4 | Tampa Bay Rays | 92-71 | Joe Maddon | 2 |
2014 | September 30 | Kansas City Royals | 89-73 | Ned Yost | 9-8 | Oakland Athletics | 88-74 | Bob Melvin | |
2015 | October 6 | New York Yankees | 87-75 | Joe Girardi | 0-3 | Houston Astros | 86-76 | A.J. Hinch | |
2016 | October 4 | Toronto Blue Jays | 89-73 | John Gibbons | 5-2 | Baltimore Orioles | 89-73 | Buck Showalter | 3 |
2017 | October 3 | New York Yankees | 91-71 | Joe Girardi | 8-4 | Minnesota Twins | 85-77 | Paul Molitor | |
2018 | October 3 | New York Yankees | 100-62 | Aaron Boone | 7-2 | Oakland Athletics | 97-65 | Bob Melvin | |
2019 | October 2 | Oakland Athletics | 97-65 | Bob Melvin | 1-5 | Tampa Bay Rays | 96-66 | Kevin Cash |
Notes:
- The Texas Rangers won a tiebreaker for the right to host the 2012 American League Wild Card Game
- The Tampa Bay Rays won a one-game playoff with the Texas Rangers for the wild card spot
- The Toronto Blue Jays won a tiebreaker for the right to host the 2016 American League Wild Card Game
National League Wild Card Game[edit]
Year | Date | Home team | Record | Manager | Score | Road team | Record | Manager | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | October 5 | Atlanta Braves | 94-68 | Fredi Gonzalez | 3-6 | St. Louis Cardinals | 88-74 | Mike Matheny | |
2013 | October 1 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 94-68 | Clint Hurdle | 6-2 | Cincinnati Reds | 90-72 | Dusty Baker | |
2014 | October 1 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 88-74 | Clint Hurdle | 0-8 | San Francisco Giants | 88-74 | Bruce Bochy | 1 |
2015 | October 7 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 98-64 | Clint Hurdle | 0-4 | Chicago Cubs | 97-65 | Joe Maddon | |
2016 | October 5 | New York Mets | 87-75 | Terry Collins | 0-3 | San Francisco Giants | 87-75 | Bruce Bochy | 2 |
2017 | October 4 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 93-69 | Torey Lovullo | 11-8 | Colorado Rockies | 87-75 | Bud Black | |
2018 | October 2 | Chicago Cubs | 95-68 | Joe Maddon | 1-2 | Colorado Rockies | 91-72 | Bud Black | |
2019 | October 1 | Washington Nationals | 93-69 | Dave Martinez | 4-3 | Milwaukee Brewers | 89-73 | Craig Counsell |
Notes:
- The Pittsburgh Pirates won a tiebreaker for the right to host the 2014 National League Wild Card Game
- The New York Mets won a tiebreaker for the right to host the 2016 National League Wild Card Game
Wild Card Series[edit]
American League Wild Card Series[edit]
Year | Series | Home team | Record | Manager | Score | Road team | Record | Manager |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | ALWC - 1 | Tampa Bay Rays | 40-20 | Kevin Cash | 2-0 | Toronto Blue Jays | 32-28 | Charlie Montoyo |
ALWC - 2 | Cleveland Indians | 35-25 | Terry Francona | 0-2 | New York Yankees | 33-27 | Aaron Boone | |
ALWC - 3 | Minnesota Twins | 36-24 | Rocco Baldelli | 0-2 | Houston Astros | 29-31 | Dusty Baker | |
ALWC - 4 | Oakland Athletics | 36-24 | Bob Melvin | 2-1 | Chicago White Sox | 35-25 | Rich Renteria |
National League Wild Card Series[edit]
Year | Series | Home team | Record | Manager | Score | Road team | Record | Manager |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | NLWC - 1 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 43-17 | Dave Roberts | 2-0 | Milwaukee Brewers | 29-31 | Craig Counsell |
NLWC - 2 | San Diego Padres | 37-23 | Jayce Tingler | 2-1 | St. Louis Cardinals | 30-28 | Mike Shildt | |
NLWC - 3 | Chicago Cubs | 34-26 | David Ross | 0-2 | Miami Marlins | 31-29 | Don Mattingly | |
NLWC - 4 | Atlanta Braves | 35-25 | Brian Snitker | 2-0 | Cincinnati Reds | 31-29 | David Bell |
Further Reading[edit]
- Chris Landers: "Every single Wild Card Game, ranked", "Cut4", mlb.com, October 2, 2017. [1]
- Matthew Leach: "These Wild Card Games went all-in on the 'wild'", mlb.com, September 28, 2018. [2]
Related Sites[edit]
Major League Baseball Wild Card Game
National League |
Major League Baseball Wild Card Series
National League |
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