If the Red Sox had swept the Yankees on Sunday, and the Rays had lost on Sunday, they would have had identical 96-66 records. I understand that it’s all academic now, but if they had tied, why wouldn’t they have had to play a one-game playoff? Being a wild card is different than being a division champ, right? And it affects who plays where in the playoffs. The White Sox and Twins might have to play it off for the AL Central crown. So why wouldn’t the Red Sox and Rays have been in the same situation? I could find no discussion of this possibility in the newspapers or online. If there’s a tiebreaker formula involved, then why not apply it to the White Sox-Twins?? I am baffled. Somebody help.

First tiebreaker is head-to-head record, and the Rays won the series against the Red Sox 10-8.  White-Sox/Twins and Brewers/Mets each tied their head to head series.

Thanks. That clarifies it all right. Is using head-to-head results a new thing? When the Dodgers and Giants had the playoff in 1951, would it NOT have happened if one team had won the season series over the other. (No doubt one team did have that advantage, but I’m not looking it up at the moment.) What about Pads and Rockies from last year? Did THEY split their season series??? I simply don’t recall this being a “baseball” thing, unlike what the NFL does for tiebreaker formulas.

...and what about 1978 when the Yanks-Red Sox had a one-game playoff. Tied season series? This is a new thing, right?

Rocco’s Malfunctioning Mitochondria (Brickhaus) - 29 September 2008 06:04 AM

First tiebreaker is head-to-head record, and the Rays won the series against the Red Sox 10-8.  White-Sox/Twins and Brewers/Mets each tied their head to head series.

Twins won the season series over the Sox 10-8 this year.  The reason they have a playoff is because it’s a matter of making the playoffs vs. not making the playoffs, rather than a seeding issue.  If the Rays and Red Sox had tied, but the second place team would get the wild card, it would just be head-to-head as a tiebreaker (see AL East 2005).

Okay, I got it now. Many thanks.