With teams entering the final stretch of the 2022 MLB regular season, the battle for the playoff berths will have baseball fans in for a treat. October is looming on the horizon, which is why the league released the 2022 postseason schedule.
Following a months-long lockout that delayed the start of the regular season, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement signed by Major League Baseball and MLB Players Association earlier this year determined a change in the playoff format.
Having returned to a 10-team postseason in 2021, this year's playoffs will be expanded to 12 teams, giving an extra playoff berth per league and turning the Wild Card round into a best-of-three series.
2022 MLB Postseason Schedule: Key Dates Of This Year's Playoffs
The 2022 MLB postseason gets underway on Friday, October 7 with Game 1 of the Wild Card series, which will be played on three consecutive days. Each division series start on October 11, with the NL Championship Series and the ALCS starting on Oct. 18 and Oct. 19, respectively. Game 1 of the World Series, meanwhile, is Friday, Oct. 28. If necessary, Game 7 would be on Saturday, Nov. 5. As Jeff Passan of ESPN notes, the league has shortened the calendar by eliminating some off days between games.
2022 MLB Playoffs Schedule
Wild Card series
- Friday, October 7 - Sunday, October 9 (Best of 3 series)
Division series
- Tuesday, Oct. 11
Championship Series
- NL: Tuesday, Oct. 18
- AL: Wednesday, Oct. 19
World Series
- Game 1: Friday, Oct. 28
- Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 29
- Game 3: Monday, Oct. 31
- Game 4: Tuesday, Nov. 1
- Game 5: Wednesday, Nov. 2
- Game 6: Friday, Nov. 4
- Game 7: Saturday, Nov. 5
