What happens if there's a 3 way tie for the NL wildcard?

TT_fold · #1 09-27-2007, 02:50 AM

There's a very distinct possibility that the Padres, Rockies, and Phillies are all tied for the wildcard after 162 games.

How does MLB resolve a 3-way tie for the wildcard?

(tried to Google it, but I'm a bit drunk and couldn't find a reliable answer)

iggymcfly · #2 09-27-2007, 02:55 AM

From MLB.com:

Scenario #4: If three Clubs are tied for first place in a Division (or Wild Card) with an identical winning percentage at the conclusion of the championship season and the tied Clubs do not have identical records against one another in the championship season, the tie for the Division Championship (or Wild Card) shall be broken as follows:

If the three tied Clubs have identical records against one another in the championship season, the Office of the Commissioner shall supervise a draw that results in the Clubs' being designated Club "A," "B," and "C."

If the tied Clubs do not have identical records against one another in the champoinship season, they will be designated Club "A,""B," and "C" based on their records in head-to- head competition during the championship season as follows:

If Club 1 has a better record against each of Clubs 2 and 3, and Club 2 has a better record against Club 3, then Club 1 shall choose a designation as Club "A," "B," or "C," and Club 2 shall choose a designation from the remaining two designations. Club 3 shall be assigned the remaining designation.

If Club 1 has a better record against each of Clubs 2 and 3, and Club 2 and Club 3 have the same record against each other, then Club 1 shall choose a designation as Club "A," "B," or "C," and the Office of the Commissioner shall supervise a draw between Clubs 2 and 3, the winner of which shall choose one of the remaining two designations. The remaining Club shall be assigned the remaining designation.

If Club 1 and Club 2 have the same record against each other but each has a better record against Club 3, then the Office of the Commissioner shall supervise a draw between Clubs 1 and 2, the winner of which shall choose a designation as Club "A," "B," or "C." The Club losing the draw shall choose a designation from the remaining two designations. Club 3 shall be assigned the remaining designation.

If Club 1 has a better record against Club 2, Club 2 has a better record against Club 3, and Club 3 has a better record against Club 1, then the three Clubs shall be ranked on the basis of overall winning percentage within that three-Club group, and the Club with the highest winning percentage from among that three-Club group shall have first choice among designations as Club"A," "B," or "C," the Club with the next highest winning percentage from among that three-Club group shall have the next choice between the two remaining designations, and the Club with the lowest winning percentage from among that three-Club group shall be assigned the remaining designation. If two or more of the Clubs within such three-Club group have the same winning percentage among the group, the Office of the Commissioner shall supervise a draw between the Clubs so tied to determine priority of selection among the designations.

Club"A" shall play Club "B" at the ballpark of Club "A" on Monday, September 29. The following day (Tuesday, September 30), the winner of the first game shall be the home Club in a second game, against Club "C." The winner of the game between Club"C" and the Club that won the game between Club"A" and Club"B" shall be declared the Division Champion.

Example of Scenario #4: The Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins tie for the AL Central Division Championship. The Seattle Mariners have a better record than all three tied Clubs and would be the Wild Card. Based on their head-to-head records through games of September 7 (CWS 7-5 over each Minnesota and KC; KC 11-8 over Minnesota), the White Sox would choose their designation as Club "A," "B," or "C," and Kansas City would choose a designation from the remaining two designations. Minnesota would be assigned the remaining designation.

TT_fold · #3 09-27-2007, 02:56 AM

[ QUOTE ]
From MLB.com:

Scenario #4: If three Clubs are tied for first place in a Division (or Wild Card) with an identical winning percentage at the conclusion of the championship season and the tied Clubs do not have identical records against one another in the championship season, the tie for the Division Championship (or Wild Card) shall be broken as follows:

If the three tied Clubs have identical records against one another in the championship season, the Office of the Commissioner shall supervise a draw that results in the Clubs' being designated Club "A," "B," and "C."

If the tied Clubs do not have identical records against one another in the champoinship season, they will be designated Club "A,""B," and "C" based on their records in head-to- head competition during the championship season as follows:

If Club 1 has a better record against each of Clubs 2 and 3, and Club 2 has a better record against Club 3, then Club 1 shall choose a designation as Club "A," "B," or "C," and Club 2 shall choose a designation from the remaining two designations. Club 3 shall be assigned the remaining designation.

If Club 1 has a better record against each of Clubs 2 and 3, and Club 2 and Club 3 have the same record against each other, then Club 1 shall choose a designation as Club "A," "B," or "C," and the Office of the Commissioner shall supervise a draw between Clubs 2 and 3, the winner of which shall choose one of the remaining two designations. The remaining Club shall be assigned the remaining designation.

If Club 1 and Club 2 have the same record against each other but each has a better record against Club 3, then the Office of the Commissioner shall supervise a draw between Clubs 1 and 2, the winner of which shall choose a designation as Club "A," "B," or "C." The Club losing the draw shall choose a designation from the remaining two designations. Club 3 shall be assigned the remaining designation.

If Club 1 has a better record against Club 2, Club 2 has a better record against Club 3, and Club 3 has a better record against Club 1, then the three Clubs shall be ranked on the basis of overall winning percentage within that three-Club group, and the Club with the highest winning percentage from among that three-Club group shall have first choice among designations as Club"A," "B," or "C," the Club with the next highest winning percentage from among that three-Club group shall have the next choice between the two remaining designations, and the Club with the lowest winning percentage from among that three-Club group shall be assigned the remaining designation. If two or more of the Clubs within such three-Club group have the same winning percentage among the group, the Office of the Commissioner shall supervise a draw between the Clubs so tied to determine priority of selection among the designations.

Club"A" shall play Club "B" at the ballpark of Club "A" on Monday, September 29. The following day (Tuesday, September 30), the winner of the first game shall be the home Club in a second game, against Club "C." The winner of the game between Club"C" and the Club that won the game between Club"A" and Club"B" shall be declared the Division Champion.

Example of Scenario #4: The Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins tie for the AL Central Division Championship. The Seattle Mariners have a better record than all three tied Clubs and would be the Wild Card. Based on their head-to-head records through games of September 7 (CWS 7-5 over each Minnesota and KC; KC 11-8 over Minnesota), the White Sox would choose their designation as Club "A," "B," or "C," and Kansas City would choose a designation from the remaining two designations. Minnesota would be assigned the remaining designation.

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tl;dr

don't mean to be rude, but layman's terms plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

iggymcfly · #4 09-27-2007, 03:00 AM

You realize that I have to read the whole thing to even be able to explain it to you, right? Why don't you just learn some reading comprehension? It was enough to Google your stupid question and get that part. I actually understand how it works from reading it, but I'm not going to give cliff notes on something that basically just outlines the scenario.

MrFeelNothin · #5 09-27-2007, 03:05 AM

They did coinflips for nearly every scenario:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=...sp&c_id=mlb

BUT in a 3way tie, the first tiebreaker is head to head records among the 3 teams.

Rox won the season series against the Phils and against SD, while Phils were up 4-3 on SD.

So the tiebreaker would be:

SD @ Philly
Rockies @ Winner

iggymcfly · #6 09-27-2007, 03:19 AM

Yeah, Rockies have the tie-breaker against everyone, so they'll always get the bye in a wild-card tiebreak. If the Rockies win the NL West, the D-Backs have the tiebreaker against the Phillies and Padres, so they'd get the bye if those 3 teams are tied.

The trickiest spot comes when there's a tiebreak between the Mets, the Padres, and the D-Backs. The Mets have the tiebreaker on Arizona, SD on the Mets, and Arizona on San Diego. However, while SD's 2 games up on NY and Arizona's 2 games up on San Diego, the Mets are only one up on Arizona. So I guess it's even simpler than I thought.

If the Rockies are in a 3-way tiebreak, they get the bye no matter what while the other two teams battle it out. If they're not, then the D-Backs get it.

The most complicated scenario would be where all 5-teams tie in which case, the Mets would play the Phillies for the East, The Padres would play the D-Backs with the winner facing the Rockies for the West, and then there would be a 3-way playoff for the wild-card among the remaining teams. Who knew?

MrFeelNothin · #7 09-27-2007, 03:24 AM

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The most complicated scenario would be where all 5-teams tie in which case, the Mets would play the Phillies for the East, The Padres would play the D-Backs with the winner facing the Rockies for the West, and then there would be a 3-way playoff for the wild-card among the remaining teams. Who knew?

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Whoa, that is awesome. I am definitely rooting for that.

THAY3R · #8 09-27-2007, 03:27 AM

The important thing to note for those not willing to read it is that if you are tied at the end of the season you can't miss the playoffs without playing a tiebreaker game.

MrFeelNothin · #9 09-27-2007, 03:35 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

The most complicated scenario would be where all 5-teams tie in which case, the Mets would play the Phillies for the East, The Padres would play the D-Backs with the winner facing the Rockies for the West, and then there would be a 3-way playoff for the wild-card among the remaining teams. Who knew?

[/ QUOTE ]

Whoa, that is awesome. I am definitely rooting for that.

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Dbacks lose tomorrow, Rox win tomorrow, Rox take 2 out of 3 from Dbacks at home. Or Dbacks win, Rox lose, and then Rox sweep Dbacks.

Padres split with the Brewers.

Mets win 2 out of their last 4.

Phillies win 3 out of their last 4.

BOOM! 5 way playoff.

Sluss · #10 09-27-2007, 06:36 AM

[ QUOTE ]
The most complicated scenario would be where all 5-teams tie in which case, the Mets would play the Phillies for the East, The Padres would play the D-Backs with the winner facing the Rockies for the West, and then there would be a 3-way playoff for the wild-card among the remaining teams. Who knew?

[/ QUOTE ] I thought they decided the divisons by tiebreaker (head2head records) and then had play-ins for the Wild Card. If they were to do play-in games for everyone it would take a week.