American League's 2024 Postseason Field Completed

There is always something epic about the final weekend of the MLB season. The obvious reason is because it ends a very long journey; 162 games to determine who becomes part of a very small postseason field. Normally, the days and games are quite linear in the final three days--the antepenultimate day is Game 160, the penultimate day is Game 161, and of course, the final day is Game 162. However, Hurricane Helene caused a bit of a monkey wrench in the end of the season, as a pair of games between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves have been pushed back into a doubleheader planned for Monday, September 30.

But that's in the National League. This story is about the American League, and in baseball's junior circuit, two postseason spots remained, and three teams--all in the AL Central--were vying for those spots. The Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals were on the cusp of October. Each team's Magic Number was 1, meaning it was win and in for both teams. As for the Minnesota Twins, they were in a rapid free fall that put them three games behind both teams with three to play. The only reason why they were barely alive is because they won season series against both teams. So Minnesota needed to win out and either Detroit or Kansas City needed to lose out.

The Twins, unfortunately, were at home against the Baltimore Orioles. The Royals were in Atlanta (which just recovered from Helene) against the Braves, but the Tigers had the most golden opponent: the Chicago White Sox.

So how did each team fare?

They did it, folks! The Tigers won, 4-1, over the Chicago White Sox (who lost for the 121st time this season--setting the new single season record), and afterwards, they did a decade's worth of celebrating. It had been 10 years since they were in the postseason, with the 2014 appearance also being the last in the lifetime of their owner, Mike Ilitch, who passed away in February 2017. This team was 55-63 on August 10. They were 10 games out of a postseason spot. They had a 0.2% chance of reaching the postseason at that time. Even entering September 1, the Tigers were the second team behind the playoff line; the now-eliminated Boston Red Sox were the first. Yet here they are, set to play October baseball, with absolutely no expectations. Detroit has had a lot to celebrate. The Lions are back, the Tigers are back, are the Red Wings next?

As for the Kansas City Royals, they didn't fare too well in Atlanta. They were blanked in Atlanta, so they had to wait just a bit. The Twins got underway against the Orioles, and well, it went as well as expected. Therefore, as a result of the final nail being hammered into Minnesota's coffin...

The Royals are really showing that Kansas City isn't just about the Chiefs (though Patrick Mahomes does have some ownership in the Royals). This team was off to a pretty good start, and by August, it was inevitable that the Royals would be postseason bound in 2024. KC also had a bit of a long drought; their last postseason ended with Royals popping the champagne as World Champions. In fact, their last three postseasons saw them at least win the pennant.

Before we talk about the overall picture, we have to talk about the Twins.

What the hell happened to this team? The Twins were actually neck-and-neck with the Guardians and Royals for the division. So what happened? Well, going 12-25 in their last 37 games will do it. The 2024 Twins have fulfilled that great Minnesota sports tradition of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The only thing that shocked me is that it was the Twins who choked so immensely; we all know the biggest choke artists in Minnesota sports are clearly the Vikings. What really sucks about this is that the Twins are coming off an amazing year that saw their long postseason game losing streak come to an end, and they won a series for the first time since 2002. Even worse, Byron Buxton was at his healthiest this season. The Twins have a lot of fixing to do.

So with all of that, the American League playoff picture is complete. The six teams are in, and there is very little left to determine. The Houston Astros are locked in as the #3 seed. The Baltimore Orioles are locked in as the #4 seed. So those two teams will host the Wild Card Series. The New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians are competing for the #1 seed, with the Yankees leading for that position. The Tigers and Royals are separated by one game in the standings, and it's Detroit in the lead. Kansas City won the season series, so if they win out and Detroit loses once, the Royals will be off to Baltimore. If Detroit wins and Kansas City loses, then the Tigers will be off to Baltimore, and the Royals will head to Houston.

The 2024 MLB Postseason begins on October 1.