The American League and National League both split into eastern and western divisions in 1969. That required post-season playoffs between the two division champions to determine the pennant winner.
The league championship series, affectionately known as the ALCS and NLCS, were originally best-three-of-five contests. In 1985, they went to the best-four-of-seven format used in the World Series.
The American League expanded from 12 to 14 teams in 1977, but the playoff system didn't change until after the National League also went to 14 teams in 1993.
The following year, each league was split into three divisions and a four-team playoff was adopted. However, the 1994 season was never completed because of a player strike, so the first four-team playoff didn't take place until 1995.
In addition to the three division champions, the second-place team with the best won-loss record goes into the playoffs as a wild card.
In the first round of games, the pennant-winner with the best record faces the wild-card entry, while the other two pennant-winning teams play one another to determine who gets into the league championship series.
This first round, rather confusingly, is called the division playoff, even though divisional titles are not at stake.
The division playoffs are best-three-of five.
In Major League Baseball, the American League Championship Series (ALCS) determines who wins the American League pennant and advances to baseball's championship, the World Series. It began in 1969, when the American League was reorganized into two divisions, East and West. The winners of each division played each other in a best-of-five series to determine who would advanced to the World Series. In 1985, the format changed to best-of-seven.
In 1994, the league was restructured into three divisions, with the three division winners and a wild-card team advancing to a best-of-five playoff round, known as the American League Division Series or ALDS. The winners of that round then advanced to the best-of-seven ALCS. This is the system currently in use.
A Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is given to the outstanding player in the ALCS. No MVP award is given for Division Series play.
For American League pennant winners prior to 1969, see American League pennant winners 1901-68. |
