What happens if the season ends in a three-way tie for the division?

[yourout]

I know it's unlikely but what would happen?

[pacopete4]

They take the 4th place team.

[DuWayne Steurer]

They have a complicated series of tie breakers.

[Eye Black]

If it was for the division championship they would rank the teams based on head-to-head results. The lower ranked of the two teams would play first and the winner of that game would play the highest seeded team for the division championship.

 

If the teams had identical records against one another they would use the following tie-breakers (they play 19 games for each series, so it would have to be a rock-paper-scissors type scenario, something like where each team was 10-9 and 9-10 against the other two)...

 

• Club with highest winning percentage among three tied clubs in intradivision games chooses its designation, followed by the team with the next highest winning percentage in intradivision games. If any two of the clubs have identical winning percentages, then then the two-Club tiebreak rules will break that tie. If all three Clubs have identical winning percentages, then;

 

• Club with the highest winning percentage in the last half of intraleague games chooses its designation, followed by the team with the next highest winning percentage in intraleague games. If any two of the clubs have identical winning percentages, then then the two-Club tiebreak rules will break that tie. If all three Clubs have identical winning percentages, then;

 

• Club with the highest winning percentage in the last half plus one intraleague game, provided that such additional game was not between any of the tied Clubs, chooses its designation, followed by the team with the next highest winning percentage in the last half plus one intraleague game. Continue to go back one intraleague game at a time until the tie has been broken.

 

Here are all of the gory details if you would like, How to determine playoff tiebreakers

[adambr2]

First, they rank the 3 teams after applying tiebreakers. Currently, the Cubs would rank 1st, Cardinals 2nd, and us 3rd after applying tiebreakers.

 

They call the 3 teams A, B, and C. On day 1, A hosts B. The winner of that game hosts team C on Day 2 for the division. This is all assuming we aren't competing for other playoff spots, it's division or bust, or ot gets even more complicated.

 

The Cubs would get first choice -- presumably they would choose to be Team C to only have to win one game, but given their current Home/Loss split, it's not impossible they would choose Team A just to keep everything at Wrigley. We would be stuck as Team B regardless, but would still host Game 2 if we won Game 1.

[Eye Black]

First, they rank the 3 teams after applying tiebreakers. Currently, the Cubs would rank 1st, Cardinals 2nd, and us 3rd after applying tiebreakers.

Here is where the three teams currently stand in terms of head-to-head results and games remaining...

 

Cubs-Cardinals: Cubs lead season series 7-5. 7 games remaining including 4 at Wrigley Field and 3 at Busch Stadium.

 

Brewers-Cardinals: Season series tied 5-5. 9 games remaining including 6 at Busch Stadium and 3 at Miller Park.

 

Brewers-Cubs: Cubs lead season series 7-5. 7 games remaining including 4 at Miller Park and 3 at Wrigley Field.

[djoctagone]

noteworthy in case there's a tie for the wild card amongst the brewers and cubs, phillies, nationals, diamondbacks or mets . . .

[yourout]

Has there ever been a three-way tie for division?

[Baldkin]

Has there ever been a three-way tie for division?

 

It looks like no.

 

Per Jayson Stark here: https://www.espn.com/blog/jayson-stark/post/_/id/1866/if-three-teams-tie-for-nl-wild-card-its-going-to-get-crazy

 

In 22 seasons of wild-card-era zaniness, it has never happened. In 48 seasons of division play, packed with epic endings and crazy finishes, it has never happened. Never, ever, in all that time, has baseball had to break a three-way tie for any playoff spot. Let alone two.

[KeithStone53151]

We should settle any ties with a cage match. 3 guarantees in life include death, taxes, and Thames winning any and all cage matches.

[nate82]

We should settle any ties with a cage match. 3 guarantees in life include death, taxes, and Thames winning any and all cage matches.

 

Only if Jim Ross is doing the commentary otherwise no deal.

[nate82]

What happens if four teams are tied for the two wild card spots? and three of the four teams are also tied for their division. I assume there would be games 163 and 164 for the division and then the losers would play another play in?

 

I am assuming in this scenario the team with the better division record would play game 164 while the #2 and #3 teams would play 163? But after that would they have to play a tie breaker game for the #1 wild card or does that just go off head to head record and then that team plays the winner of the two other tied teams?

 

That would be one awesome 3-4 days of baseball if that were to happen.