Wild Card Series

The Wild Card Series is the first round of the postseason in Major League Baseball. Starting with the 2022 Postseason, it consists of two best-of-three series in each league, with all games played in the home ballpark of the top-seeded team. The four teams participating are the third-ranked division winner, which is automatically seeded #3, and three wild card teams ranked #4 to #6 in order of their regular season record, with tiebreakers used if necessary. Team #3 hosts team #6 in the first Wild Card Series, and Team #4 hosts Team #5 in the second Wild Card Series. The winner of the first series goes on to play the #2-seeded team in the Division Series, while the winner of the second series plays the #1 seed.

There was a first use of the Wild Card Series in 2020 as a result of the special postseason format adopted that year due to the shortened season resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. That year, all postseason teams took part in the "Wild Card Series"; the three division winners in each league all hosted a series, as did the top second-place team. The other participants were the other two second-place teams, and the next two best teams. All series were played under a best-of-three format, with all of the games taking place in the home ballpark of the higher-seeded team. The winners then moved on to the Division Series, as per other years.

American League Wild Card Series

Year	Series	Home team	Record	Manager	Score	Road team	Record	Manager
2020	ALWC - 1	Tampa Bay Rays	40-20	Kevin Cash	2-0	Toronto Blue Jays	32-28	Charlie Montoyo
	ALWC - 2	Cleveland Indians	35-25	Terry Francona	0-2	New York Yankees	33-27	Aaron Boone
	ALWC - 3	Minnesota Twins	36-24	Rocco Baldelli	0-2	Houston Astros	29-31	Dusty Baker
	ALWC - 4	Oakland Athletics	36-24	Bob Melvin	2-1	Chicago White Sox	35-25	Rich Renteria
2022	ALWC - 1	Cleveland Guardians	92-70	Terry Francona	2-0	Tampa Bay Rays	86-76	Kevin Cash
	ALWC - 2	Toronto Blue Jays	92-70	John Schneider	0-2	Seattle Mariners	90-72	Scott Servais
2023	ALWC - 1	Minnesota Twins	87-75	Rocco Baldelli	2-0	Toronto Blue Jays	89-73	John Schneider
	ALWC - 2	Tampa Bay Rays	99-63	Kevin Cash	0-2	Texas Rangers	90-72	Bruce Bochy
2024	ALWC - 1	Houston Astros	88-73	Joe Espada	0-2	Detroit Tigers	86-76	A.J. Hinch
	ALWC - 2	Baltimore Orioles	91-71	Brandon Hyde	0-2	Kansas City Royals	86-76	Matt Quatraro

National League Wild Card Series

Year	Series	Home team	Record	Manager	Score	Road team	Record	Manager
2020	NLWC - 1	Los Angeles Dodgers	43-17	Dave Roberts	2-0	Milwaukee Brewers	29-31	Craig Counsell
	NLWC - 2	San Diego Padres	37-23	Jayce Tingler	2-1	St. Louis Cardinals	30-28	Mike Shildt
	NLWC - 3	Chicago Cubs	34-26	David Ross	0-2	Miami Marlins	31-29	Don Mattingly
	NLWC - 4	Atlanta Braves	35-25	Brian Snitker	2-0	Cincinnati Reds	31-29	David Bell
2022	NLWC - 1	St. Louis Cardinals	93-69	Oliver Marmol	0-2	Philadelphia Phillies	87-75	Rob Thomson
	NLWC - 2	New York Mets	101-61	Buck Showalter	1-2	San Diego Padres	89-73	Bob Melvin
2023	NLWC - 1	Milwaukee Brewers	92-70	Craig Counsell	0-2	Arizona Diamondbacks	84-78	Torey Lovullo
	NLWC - 2	Philadelphia Phillies	90-72	Rob Thomson	2-0	Miami Marlins	84-78	Skip Schumaker
2024	NLWC - 1	Milwaukee Brewers	93-69	Pat Murphy	1-2	New York Mets	89-73	Carlos Mendoza
	NLWC - 2	San Diego Padres	93-69	Mike Shildt	2-0	Atlanta Braves	89-73	Brian Snitker