MLB Pennant Race 2025: 168 Hours

March 18, 2025. My 4oth birthday. It was also when the 2025 Major League Baseball regular season started with the first of the back-to-back games in Japan. Here it is, just over six months later, and we baseball fans are preparing for the end. We now have just one week, seven short days left in this insane season. A week isn't a lot of time, but in that little time, the rest of the postseason picture will be filled in. And this season, there's still quite a lot to figure out.

Before I continue, if I haven't said it on Vocal already, I'll say it here. I am fascinated that MLB uses the term "postseason" instead of "playoffs." I never really questioned it, I just went with it. No one really knows why MLB does this, but if I had to guess, I think it's because "postseason" has more of a serious feel than "playoffs," and MLB has always had that "traditional" aura about them. So yeah, MLB has the "postseason," while the NBA, NHL, and NFL have the "playoffs."

As I said, there's a lot to figure out, especially in the American League. Here's how crazy the "junior circuit" is. A postseason berth in the AL wasn't clinched until Sunday, September 21, when the Toronto Blue Jays clinched with a win over the Royals coupled with a Cleveland Guardians loss. So yes, there will be postseason baseball in Canada.

As for the rest, oh boy:

The American League East is still up for grabs, and while the standings show three teams alive for the division, it's really between the Blue Jays and the New York Yankees. Even with the mess we've been in for the last few months, the Yankees still have a shot at winning the division. The Jays have a two game lead entering the final week, and their magic number to win the East is four. The Jays and Yankees will end the regular season at their respective homes. The Jays will host the Red Sox for three games, and will host the Tampa Bay Rays in the final weekend. As for the Yankees, we'll host the lowly White Sox for three games, and then we will host the Orioles on the final weekend.

Toronto won the season series, 8-5, over New York.

Entering the month of September, the Detroit Tigers led the American League Central by 9.5 games... over the Kansas City Royals. The Cleveland Guardians were an afterthought. 10.5 games out of first place, too many teams ahead of them, looked like they would be out of it a year after playing for the pennant. Then the month of September happened. The Guardians went 16-5, including a 10-game winning streak (that included sweeping the Tigers in Detroit) that ended on Sunday. As for the Tigers, 5-13, including losing 9 of their last 10. As a result, only one game separates the teams in the Central, and they will run into each other one more time in Cleveland, with the Guardians one win away from winning the season series, and the head-to-head tiebreaker that comes with it. After that series, the Guardians will host the Rangers in the final weekend, while the Tigers will head to Boston.

Regarding magic numbers, Detroit's to win the Central is six, Cleveland's is seven.

The American League West, in a way, came down to this past weekend. The Seattle Mariners and the Houston Astros suddenly found themselves in a tight battle for the division, with the teams being tied for first place entering their weekend series in Houston. Even crazier, the season series was tied 5-5, so the set was to determine who would get that head-to-head. Seattle went scorched Earth on the Astros and swept them in dominant fashion, resulting in the Mariners leading the AL West by three games over the team who had won the division in every full season since 2017. That plus the head-to-head tiebreaker results in Seattle having a magic number of three to win the AL West for the first time since Seattle's famous 116-win season in 2001. Seattle will end the regular season at home, beginning with a three-game set against the 110+ loss Colorado Rockies, and ending with a set against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

The American League's Wild Card race is absolutely insane. As it stands now, it's the Yankees, Red Sox, and Guardians with the Wild Card positions. The Guardians and Astros are actually tied for the last spot, but Cleveland won the season series, meaning that right now, Houston would miss the postseason. As beautiful as that sounds, let's get serious. The Yankees are in the prime Wild Card spot, and we are getting close. Our magic number to get into the postseason: three. Boston won season series with Cleveland and Houston, so as a result, their magic number is five to get in. As for Cleveland, they have a magic number of six just to get in, while Houston will need to make sure they finish a game ahead of Cleveland and/or Boston. The Rangers and Royals are still alive, but barely. Texas is two losses away from elimination, while Kansas City's next loss will be their last.

The National League picture is more clear, with four teams officially in. The Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers joined the Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies in the postseason party this week, and it was on Sunday that the Brewers won the NL Central once again. So both the East and Central are locked up, and we know the Cubs will be a Wild Card.

As for the rest:

The National League West hasn't been locked in yet, but it's close. The Dodgers did win the season series over the Padres, resulting in the Dodgers having a magic number of three to win the NL West yet again. The Dodgers next series is a road set against the Arizona Diamondbacks, before heading to Seattle to end the regular season. As for the Padres, while the division is pretty much out of reach for them, the postseason isn't. San Diego's magic number to get into the postseason is two. Just two wins will put them in the postseason, and this week, the Padres will host the Brewers for three, followed by hosting Arizona for the final three.

So why did I mention the Padres' information? Because when it comes to the National League Wild Card race, the only thing that really stands out is the deadlock between the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Mets. The two teams are tied for the last spot, and it's the Reds who have the tiebreaker, meaning that the Mets could miss out if the season ended right now. Reds' magic number to get in is six, and they'll host the Pirates for a three game set, followed by a trip to Milwaukee to end the season. As for the Mets, they'll have to play three at Wrigley Field before heading to South Beach against the Marlins.

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A lot has happened in over six months during this MLB season. Now it's down to the final week. Seven days. 168 hours. A lot can happen in a week's time, and as we've seen in past seasons, a lot can actually happen in the final day! We are in for one hell of a conclusion to the 2025 MLB season!