The 2022 Major League Baseball season ended on October 5, and teams will now compete in the postseason to be able to win the World Series. Two teams have returned after more than 10 years.
The Seattle Mariners have returned to the postseason for the first time since 2001, ending the longest playoff drought in North American sports. The Philadelphia Phillies have also returned to the postseason for the first time since 2011. Similarly, the New York Mets have returned to the postseason for the first time since 2016. The Cleveland Guardians, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the San Diego Padres, who haven't been participating since 2020, have also made a comeback after missing the 2021 season.
The postseason format changed for the 2022 season. Earlier, there was a Wild Card Game- a single game between the two best teams that did not win their division, giving teams one game to win or be eliminated. However, for the 2022 season, three wild card berths will play in a best-of-three series.
There are two leagues and three divisions in each league. In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League West; the Atlanta Braves won the National League East; the St Louis Cardinals won the National League Central. In the American League, the New York Yankees won the American League East; the Cleveland Guardians won the American League Central; the Houston Astros won the American League West.
The Braves have been appearing in the postseason since 2018, and the 2022 season is their fifth consecutive appearance. The Cardinals and the Tampa Bay Rays have been appearing in the postseason since 2019. Similarly, the Dodgers have been present in the postseason since 2013, and the Yankees and the Astros since 2017.
In the National League Wild Card Series, the Padres won against the Mets, and the Phillies won against the Cardinals. In the American League Wild Card Series, the Mariners won against the Blue Jays, and the Guardians won against the Rays.
In the National League, the Phillies won in two games. The Phillies were not even expected to play in the postseason. The manager, Joe Girardi, was fired on June 3 when they had a 23-29 record, and the new manager, Rob Thomson, led them to an 87-75 record. That was the last game for Albert Pujols, who is expected to be in the hall of fame in the future.
The Padres won the first game, lost the second game, and won the last game in an upset with the Mets, the favorites to win.
The Division Series is a best-of-five series in both leagues and in the National League Division Series, the Padres won against the Dodgers, and the Phillies won against the Braves.
Acquiring Manny Machado, Juan Soto, and Josh Hader paid off for the Padres. The Dodgers won the series' first game, but the Padres won three games after that, making a fifth game unnecessary and bringing the Padres to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 1998.
The Braves lost against the Phillies in four games and only won the second game. In the second game, starting pitcher, Kyle Wright did not give up any runs for six innings. However, in the other games, starters Max Fried, Spencer Strider, and Charlie Morton combined to allow 14 runs in seven innings. The Braves won the World Series in 2021 and were hoping to win again, but were eliminated.
Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson said, "You never expect the season to be over until you're the one celebrating." He also mentioned that they have "played with that mentality all season. They were better this series and beat us. I definitely tip my cap to them. I feel like they were the aggressors this series and kind of put us behind the eight ball quick."
Swanson asserts that "That's why baseball can be so tough. You play 162 games to get to this point and anything can happen come October. It's just not fun."
The offseason involves Swanson becoming a free agent, meaning he can leave the Braves and play for another team. Swanson made his Major League Baseball debut in 2016 with the Braves. However, Braves' fans want to avoid that after Freddie Freeman left last season and signed with the Dodgers.
In the American League Division Series, the Astros won against the Mariners, and the Yankees won against the Guardians. The Astros won all three games, but the Yankees won three and lost two.
The National League Championship Series is a best-of-seven series, and it was the Padres against the Phillies. The first game was on October 18.
The American League Championship Series is also a best-of-seven series. It was the Astros against the Yankees. The first game will be on October 19. The 2022 season was the Astros' 6th consecutive American League Championship Series appearance. It was also the third American League Championship Series meeting between the Astros and Yankees since 2017, as the Astros won in 2017 and 2019.
The winners will play each other in the World Series, which is a best-of-seven series. The first game will be on October 28, and the fourth game will be on November 1. At least four games will be played, meaning that the World Series will end on November 1 at the earliest. If necessary, games will be played on November 2, November 4, and November 5.
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