In baseball’s modern era from 1969 onward, the standard playoff format consisted of the division winners from the American League and National League who would automatically qualify for the postseason. In each league there were initially two divisions – the East and West from 1969-1993, and then three divisions – East, Central, West from 1994 onward after expansion.

The team with the best regular season record in each league would be awarded the number 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the League Championship Series. The two division winners would face off in a best-of-five LCS format, with the winner advancing to the World Series.

This structure remained largely unchanged until 2012 when baseball added a second Wild Card team from each league to expand the playoffs. The one-game Wild Card playoff round was introduced with the highest seeded Wild Card hosting the second Wild Card team. This meant two additional teams now had a chance to play in the LCS and World Series each year.

The new Wild Card format was an immediate success, as the newly added winner-take-all game created tremendous excitement. Fans loved the sudden death aspect of it, as a team’s entire season could come down to one pitch in a high-pressure game. It also placed an even greater importance on the regular season and trying to earn a division title and home-field advantage for the Wild Card round.

With 30 teams now in Major League Baseball there continued to be calls for an even further expanded playoff structure. Many talented clubs were missing out on October opportunities with nearly half the leagues not making the playoffs each year. Baseball ultimately decided to again tweak the format prior to the 2020 season.

Starting in 2020, there would now be three Wild Card teams from each league instead of just the previous two. This meant the three division winners in each league would automatically qualify for the postseason as they had previously. But now the three teams with the next best records, regardless of division, would also make it as the Wild Card clubs.

The three Wild Card teams would then face off in a new best-of-three Wild Card round to produce one surviving Wild Card team from each league. The top seed would host the 8th and 7th seeds for this best-of-three matchup. The winner would advance to face the league’s number 1 seed in the LDS or Division Series round, which remained a best-of-five format.

This new expanded playoff structure with three Wild Card teams has produced some thrilling baseball in recent autumns. More teams are staying in contention longer and keeping fans engaged down the stretch of each 162-game regular season. The additional Wild Card spots have given a glimmer of hope for teams who may have fallen short in previous formats.

Some fans argue it diminishes the importance of winning a division, while others counter that it simply spreads the playoff rewards to more clubs and cities. Either way, it’s proven a boon for Major League Baseball’s bottom line as well as television ratings during the Wild Card rounds and beyond. Parity and suspense seem higher than ever before across both leagues each October.

Going forward, it remains to be seen if baseball will choose to tweak or modify the playoff format further in coming seasons. But for 2022, the structure will stay the same – three division winners and three Wild Card teams producing a 12-team playoff in each league. More fan bases will have a reason to pay attention right up until the final out of the 162-game schedule is made each fall. Only time will tell if three Wild Cards per league ends up being the goldilocks number that creates just the right level of playoff intrigue and inclusion for the modern game.