Tiebreaker scenario

[chuckywang]

What if the Mets, Phillies, Diamondbacks, Padres, and the Rockies are all tied at the end of the year?

 

What would happen then?

[weatherdood]

Good question..Curious to see if anyone has that answer

[moorecg]

What if the Mets, Phillies, Diamondbacks, Padres, and the Rockies are all tied at the end of the year?

 

What would happen then?

 

I "Think" the Mets and Phillies play one game for the east...

 

The best record in the West between the D-backs, padres and Rockies would get to chose whether to play 2 games at home, or one game on the road at the winner of the other two teams, the winner of that game would win the West,

 

Then the loser of the Mets/Phillies and the 2 losers of the D-Backs/Padres/Rockies would do the same scenario that the D-Backs/Rockies/Padres did earlier to determine the WC...

 

That would be a god awful mess as it would take several days to sort out and would mess with the playoff scheduling.

[UMFan83]

My guess:

 

Assume tying record is 90-72

 

Mets and Phillies play one gam playoff. Winning team wins East. Losing team goes home. Lets say Mets win

 

Mets: 91-72 --

Phillies: 90-73 1.0

 

Rockies, Padres, DBacks compete in a three way battle for West. Lets assume that Padres win coin flip and choose to play title game on road. Lets say Rockies win first game and lose second to Pads.

 

Padres 91-72 --

Rockies 91-73 0.5

DBacks 90-73 1.0

 

And WC Race:

Rockies 91-73 --

DBacks 90-73 0.5

Padres 90-73 0.5

 

Rockies win WC

 

However my hypothesis does not work if Rockies win both games. Then it would be:

 

Padres 90-73 --

DBacks 90-73 --

Phillies 90-73

 

So who knows

[chuckywang]

I think there might be a possibility that a team plays 4 extra games after the end of the season.

[ElectricJ]

That would be an unbelievable mess if it happened.

 

After looking at the standings with 4 games to play, the Cubs, in spite of their trials/tribulations during the season, are only 5 games behind the D-backs. At 88-70, Arizona has the best record in the NL & might not even make the playoffs if they lay an egg in Colorado. Amazing stuff...

[ZMovieman]

Am I totally off on this or in a division race, the tiebreaker is head to head? Mets-Phillies, Cubs-Brewers, etc? Wild card I knew went to a playoff, but I thought head to head was a factor. Any help?

[chuckywang]

Am I totally off on this or in a division race, the tiebreaker is head to head? Mets-Phillies, Cubs-Brewers, etc? Wild card I knew went to a playoff, but I thought head to head was a factor. Any help?

 

Tiebreakers are head to head, but they are only used if both teams are in the playoffs anyways, e.g. in the case when one is the winner of the division, and the other is the wild card.

 

Head-to-head is also used in determining who has the advantage in what MLB uses as a 3-team tiebreaker.

 

Bottom line is that inclusion/exclusion to the playoffs is always determined on the field in baseball. If you finish at the top of any race with a tie, you are either in the playoffs or have a chance to get into the playoffs (through one-game playoffs and whatnot).

[SouthSideRyan]

moorecg is right.

 

Play-in games don't count towards the standings. So the losers of the NL West play ins and the NL East play in would then play each other for the wild card.

[NCCubFan]

moorecg is right.

 

Play-in games don't count towards the standings.

Right. They used to (they did when the Cubs had the tie-breaker against the Giants in 1998), but that has since been changed.

[soccer10k]

Am I totally off on this or in a division race, the tiebreaker is head to head? Mets-Phillies, Cubs-Brewers, etc? Wild card I knew went to a playoff, but I thought head to head was a factor. Any help?

 

Tiebreakers are head to head, but they are only used if both teams are in the playoffs anyways, e.g. in the case when one is the winner of the division, and the other is the wild card.

 

Head-to-head is also used in determining who has the advantage in what MLB uses as a 3-team tiebreaker.

 

Bottom line is that inclusion/exclusion to the playoffs is always determined on the field in baseball. If you finish at the top of any race with a tie, you are either in the playoffs or have a chance to get into the playoffs (through one-game playoffs and whatnot).

 

Just as an example...if the Red Sox and Yankees tied for the AL East this year, the Yankees will win the division and the Red Sox would be the wild card because they're both in the playoffs regardless and the Yankees won the season series.

[moorecg]

moorecg is right.

 

Play-in games don't count towards the standings. So the losers of the NL West play ins and the NL East play in would then play each other for the wild card.

 

I don't think I've heard someone say that in years.. :D

[killthegoat06]

I want to see this happen. Then the other teams get tired out. :)

[killthegoat06]

So Monday:

 

Mets vs. Phillies

2 games involving NL West

 

Tuesday:

Play in game for west and then winner play nl east loser

 

5 games in more than 2 days = tired teams plus great entertainment for me.

 

Please happen.

Edited September 27, 2007 by killthegoat06

[killthegoat06]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3038686

 

If you think the National League standings are making you blind, it could easily get worse.

 

 

Try looking at the tie-breaker scenarios.

 

ONE-GAME PLAYOFFS

Potential tiebreaker matchups based on coin flips:

NL WILD CARD

Philadelphia at San Diego

San Diego at Colorado

Chicago at San Diego

Philadelphia at Colorado

Chicago at Philadelphia

Colorado at Chicago

 

NL EAST

NY Mets at Philadelphia

 

NL CENTRAL

Milwaukee at Chicago

 

NL WEST

San Diego at Arizona

Colorado at Arizona

Colorado at San Diego

 

If five teams in the East and West finish the season with the same record, we predict business will be booming at all kinds of ophthalmologists' offices near you.

 

Among the fun possibilities if that happens: The Padres theoretically could play in Milwaukee on Sunday, in Arizona on Monday, in San Diego on Tuesday, in Philadelphia on Wednesday, back in San Diego on Thursday and then in New York on Friday.

 

But don't write any of that in ink. This is such a mess, MLB has declared Thursday "Emergency Coin Flip Day," because let's just say some of these matchups didn't look quite this likely a couple of weeks ago.

 

Ready for the most crazed scenarios? All right, here goes:

 

Five-way tie (Mets, Philllies, Diamondbacks, Padres, Rockies):

• The Mets and Phillies play a one-game playoff Monday in Philadelphia to decide the NL East.

 

• The Rockies, Diamondbacks and Padres would have a three-team playoff Monday and Tuesday to decide the NL West champ. (The Rockies, the team with the best three-way head-to-head record, would have the option of playing two games at home or one game on the road.)

 

• That would still leave three teams tied for the wild card. So those three then would kick off another three-team playoff for that spot Wednesday and Thursday. (If Colorado is involved, it's just about guaranteed to have the best head-to-head record and, again, the option to choose two home games or one road game. But if the Rockies win the West and three other teams are involved in the wild-card playoff, don't even ask. Too many different scenarios.)

 

• The survivor of those four days of madness would be the wild-card team and, if it's an NL West club, would start the playoffs in either New York or Philadelphia. If it's an NL East team, it would start the playoffs in the park of the NL West winner.)

 

Got all that? Great. Then let's go on.

 

Four-team craziness: If the two NL East teams and the top two NL West teams all tie:

Just for the sake of discussion, let's say the Mets, Phillies, Padres and Diamondbacks finish with the same record. Here's how that would work:

 

• The Mets and Phillies play a one-game playoff Monday in Philadelphia to decide the NL East.

 

• The Padres and Diamondbacks play a one-game playoff Monday in Arizona to decide the NL West.

 

• The losers then play Tuesday to decide the wild card. A Diamondbacks-Phillies game would be at a site to be decided by a coin flip Thursday. A Padres-Phillies game would be in San Diego. If the Mets are involved, no sites have been determined yet -- because the Mets were such an unlikely wild-card bet, MLB never held any coin flips for those possibilities, either. So they had a big afternoon of flipping scheduled, as well.

 

More four-team craziness: If the three NL West teams and the Phillies all have the same record:

• First, the Padres, Rockies and Diamondbacks would have to settle the NL West on Monday and Tuesday. Again, the Rockies have the best head-to-head record, so they would have the option of playing two home games or one road game.

 

• Then BOTH NL West runners-up would get thrown into another three-team wild-card playoff with the Phillies on Wednesday and Thursday. Here is the team that would get the option of one road game or two home games:

 

• In an Arizona-Colorado-Philadelphia three-way: Diamondbacks.

 

• In an Arizona-San Diego-Philadelphia three-way: Diamondbacks.

 

• In a Colorado-San Diego-Philadelphia three-way: Rockies.

 

• If an NL West team survives all that, it would then play at the Mets on Friday to kick off the NLDS. If it's the Phillies, it would start the NLDS on Friday in the home of the NL West champ.

[dougdescenzo]

They have a 3-legged potato sack race on consecutive Sunday's to determine the winner.

[chuckywang]

They have a 3-legged potato sack race on consecutive Sunday's to determine the winner.

 

That's about as silly as determining the winner of a soccer game by penalty kicks.

[Soul]

There could be a 3-way in that WC race. I think they do a 2-game playoff with someone getting a "bye" for the first game.

 

I wouldn't mind seeing it, that would be fun as long as it isn't us.

[SouthSideRyan]

We should definitely pull for the 5 way tie as it would leave us very well rested while whoever emerges from it would be gassed.

[chuckywang]

Rockies win again, two games behind the D-backs, so they cannot tie the D-backs now.

[moorecg]

Just tell me NLDS game 4 is still going to be on Sunday no matter what happens....

[moorecg]

Just tell me NLDS game 4 is still going to be on Sunday no matter what happens....

 

Also...anyone know approx. time on the Sunday games? Assuming we make the games, I'm trying to figure out how/when to schedule flights...

[CubmanPi]

Just tell me NLDS game 4 is still going to be on Sunday no matter what happens....

 

Also...anyone know approx. time on the Sunday games? Assuming we make the games, I'm trying to figure out how/when to schedule flights...

I've already got a flight out early monday morning. If game 4 doesn't happen until after Sunday, I will be beyond crushed.

[third eye]

As it is right now, isnt there an extra day between games 2 and 3? I suspect that they would just use the extra schedule flexibility to avoid shifting the whole series back. Maybe just the first two games.

[CubmanPi]

As it is right now, isnt there an extra day between games 2 and 3? I suspect that they would just use the extra schedule flexibility to avoid shifting the whole series back. Maybe just the first two games.

That really doesn't make any sense - this would be the perfect opportunity for the Cubs to make the playoffs AND still kick me in the balls.