MLB Pennant Race 2025: 160, 161, and 162

Three days. We are now down to the final weekend of the 2025 Major League Baseball season. All good things often come to an end, and in sports, the endings are often quite thrilling. Regarding regular season finales, it seems to me that the NFL and MLB seem to excel in this; the former due to the powers that be making changes to the schedule that pretty much guarantees a thrilling final week of the season, while the latter seems to have at least one close race come down to the 160th-162nd (or in some cases, 163rd, until the end of 2021) games of the regular season.

I still remember Game 162 in 2011, those two Wild Card races that went from being deemed over entering September to coming down to the wire in the final game. The Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves both having playoff spots sewn up, only to collapse and blow it on that final day. I still, to this day, say that led to MLB adding an additional Wild Card a year later. You don't suddenly make that decision so soon after an ending like that, unless it's out of wanton curiosity, some slight sympathy, and money.

Here it is, 14 years later, and the drama remains. The season is down to the final weekend, and there is still a lot to decide. First, let's talk about what's locked in. In the National League, all three divisions are clinched. The Philadelphia Phillies (East), the Milwaukee Brewers (Central), and the Los Angeles Dodgers (West) are division champs. The Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres are Wild Cards, and they will face each other in the Wild Card Series, though home field isn't set just yet. The Brewers and Phillies have byes straight to the National League Division Series, while the Dodgers will host the Wild Card Series against one of these three teams:

Literally the only thing left to decide is that last Wild Card spot in the National League, and three teams are alive for that spot: the New York Mets, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Out of the three teams, the Reds had the least amount of expectations. The Diamondbacks are two years removed from winning the pennant, and the Mets didn't spend $765 million to end up out of it. The final week actually began with the Reds above the playoff line, but dropping two of three at home to the lowly Pirates dropped them a game out. The Diamondbacks dropped two of three at home to the Dodgers, while the Mets took two of three in Wrigley.

For the final weekend, the Mets head to Miami, the Reds head to Milwaukee, and the Diamondbacks host the Padres. Arizona is two back with those three left, and they need to win out and get some help from the Marlins and Brewers. The Diamondbacks can be eliminated as early as Friday with a loss and a Mets win. The Mets have a magic number of 3 to get into the postseason. Whoever gets that last spot will be off to LA, and if it's the Mets, it'll be a rematch of last year's NLCS.

In the American League, the Seattle Mariners are champions of the West--their first division title since 2001. Let's talk about how long ago that was. I was a junior in high school, the Avalanche had just won Cup #2, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was in his sixth and last reign as WWF Champion, and the Seattle Seahawks were playing their final season in the AFC. The Mariners, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the New York Yankees are postseason bound.

As for the rest, and there's a lot:

Entering September, the Cleveland Guardians were 10.5 games out of first place. Now, they are dead even with the Detroit Tigers. This happened due to the Guardians taking two of three at home against the Tigers, with the first win clinching the head-to-head tiebreaker for Cleveland. So they are dead even in the American League Central entering the final weekend, which will see the Guardians remain at home against the Texas Rangers, while the Tigers head to Fenway against the Boston Red Sox.

I mentioned the Red Sox. They did look quite good to start the season. Then they traded Rafael Devers, and they suddenly looked a lot better. Yikes. So the Red Sox are going to be in the playoffs. It's inevitable. Their magic number is one to get in, so they just have to beat the Tigers just once, and they're in. It's wild how Boston managed to stay above ground, but they are above ground and will most likely stay there.

Thankfully, that's more than I can say for these guys:

It's almost here, folks: the end of the Houston Astros. They pissed away the division when the Mariners swept them in Houston, and to make matters worse for the Astros, they actually lost two out of three to the Athletics. So the Astros stand as the only AL team behind the playoff line with a pulse, but its fading fast. The Astros could be eliminated as soon as Friday. If the Astros lose, the Red Sox get in. If the Tigers and Guardians win along with this, both teams join the Red Sox, and the Astros would be eliminated for the first time since 2016.

And in the immortal words of Vanessa Williams, let's save the best for last:

The American League East is officially a two team race now. The Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees have been postseason bound for days, but there is still the division up for grabs. While we took care of the lowly, lowly Chicago White Sox, the Blue Jays dropped two of three at home to the Red Sox. Here's the development. Cleveland's loss locked up the bye teams in the American League. The Mariners will skip the Wild Card and enter the American League Division Series as the #2 seed. As for the #1 seed? That will go to whoever wins the East. The runner up hosts the Wild Card Series.

Both teams will end the regular season at home. The Yankees host the Orioles, while the Jays host the Tampa Bay Rays. It's a tie for first in the division. The Jays' magic number is 3. They can get it by winning out. The Yankees magic number is 4. We have to win out and the Jays need to lose one. We can do this. We've had an up and down few months, but we won the games we needed to win, and we are close. The Yankees can win the East again. The Yankees will win the East again.

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We are down to the final weekend of the 2025 season. Every team has played 159 games. Game 160 is on Friday, Game 161 is on Saturday, and Game 162 is on Sunday, and Sunday has all of the games starting at the very same time (3PM Eastern/Noon Pacific). The next three days, the final three days of the season, will be the most nerve wracking and intense for certain baseball fans, and I'll be drinking in all of it.