MLB Division Standings

2021 Major League Baseball Magic Numbers

Update to how "No Control" numbers are presented

We've previously shown the letters "NC" if a team has no control of their own destiny for a seed. We've had some user feedback that suggested we try showing the number anyway, even if the team needs help to secure that seed.

We'll be testing this out on the MLB & NHL standings pages. You'll now see a teams Magic Number, faded out and surrounded by brackets, when they have no control of their own destiny, but can still achieve a seed with help from the other teams.

Let us know what you think via email or Twitter.

American League East

AL East GP/R W L W% GB
TAM 154/8 95 59 .616 –   2 — ← ←
BOS 154/8 88 66 .571 7 [16]   8 6 ←
NYY 154/8 87 67 .564 8 [17] [10]   7 ←
TOR 154/8 85 69 .551 10 • [12] [11]   ←
BAL 154/8 49 105 .318 46 • • • •  

American League Central

AL Central GP/R W L W% GB
CWS 154/8 87 67 .564 –   ← ← ← ←
CLE 153/9 75 78 .490 11.5 •   9 5 3
DET 153/9 74 79 .483 12.5 • [11]   6 4
KAN 153/9 70 83 .457 16.5 • [15] [14]   8
MIN 154/8 69 85 .448 18 • [16] [15] [11]  

American League West

AL West GP/R W L W% GB
HOU 154/8 91 63 .590 –   3 — ← ←
SEA 154/8 85 69 .551 6 [15]   7 ← ←
OAK 154/8 83 71 .539 8 [17] [11]   ← ←
LAA 154/8 73 81 .474 18 • • •   ←
TEX 154/8 56 98 .363 35 • • • •  

National League East

NL East GP/R W L W% GB
ATL 153/9 81 72 .529 –   8 2 ← ←
PHI 154/8 80 74 .519 1.5 [11]   3 ← ←
NYM 153/9 73 80 .477 8 [18] [16]   — ←
MIA 153/9 64 89 .418 17 • • [19]   9
WAS 154/8 64 90 .415 17.5 • • • [10]  

National League Central

NL Central GP/R W L W% GB
MIL 154/8 92 62 .597 –   2 ← ← ←
STL 154/8 85 69 .551 7 [16]   3 ← ←
CIN 154/8 79 75 .513 13 • [15]   ← ←
CHC 154/8 67 87 .435 25 • • •   ←
PIT 153/9 57 96 .372 34.5 • • • •  

National League West

NL West GP/R W L W% GB
SFO 154/8 100 54 .649 –   8 ← ← ←
LAD 154/8 99 55 .642 1 [10]   ← ← ←
SDG 154/8 78 76 .506 22 • •   3 ←
COL 153/9 71 82 .464 28.5 • • [16]   ←
ARI 154/8 49 105 .318 51 • • • •  

Five teams from each league qualify for the playoffs:

  • The three division winners, who are ranked 1-3 regardless of their records
  • Two wild card teams, who play a single Wild Card game to determine who moves onto the Division round
Clinched division
Clinched wild-card berth
Eliminated from the playoffs

Two-way tie for the division or wildcard

  1. A one game tie-breaker is played between the two teams, winner take all.

Two-way tie between division winners

  1. The team with the best record in head to head play.
  2. The team with the best overall record in intra-division games.
  3. The team with the best record in the final 81 games of the season, ignoring inter-league play.
  4. The team with the best record in the final 82 games of the season, extending backward until the tie is broken.

Three-way tie for the division or wildcard

  1. The team with the best intra-division record is determined as Team C. If intra-division records are tied, refer to above tie-breakers to determine team C.
  2. The other two teams, A and B, play one game.
  3. The winner of this game plays team C in one game.
  4. The winner of this second game is the winner of the tie-breaker.

Tiebreaking procedures from mlb.com

Updated: September 25, 2021 5:00am ET