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MLB wild card standings 2026
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These are the 2026 American League and National League wild card standings, laid out in seed order. MLB's standings feed and ESPN's odds load fresh with the page, so the race updates as the last weekend of the season is played.
On HideScore's main board this table sits under a cover, because a wild-card position is a running tally of results and a glance at it can give away a game you meant to watch later. Here it is open, since the race is what you came for.
Three seats in each league
Only one club per division can win it, and the three best records among the rest become the wild cards. They take seeds 4, 5 and 6. None of them gets a bye. The 4 seed hosts the 5 in a best-of-three Wild Card Series, and the 6 seed travels to the 3 seed, the division winner with the weakest record. Every game of that round is played at the higher seed's park, so the fight for the 4 seed is also a fight for three home games.
Reading the race in seed order
This page opens the table sorted by seed. The top two rows are the bye seeds, then a divider, then seeds 3 to 6. Below the six sits a still alive list, every club outside a playoff place that can still reach one, ordered by its chance of getting in. Each row shows three percentages, for the playoffs, the division and a wild card, and a status such as Clinched wild card when a club has locked in its place.
Games back, when you want it
Tick Show games back at the top of the panel to add each club's distance from the last wild-card seat. A chasing club reads 2 back or 1.5 back. The first two wild cards read how far they are up on the third, which is the seat a chaser actually takes. The figure is off by default because it moves with every result, which makes it the part of the table closest to a score.
No more Game 163
Until 2021 a tie for a wild card was played off in an extra game. Since 2022 ties are settled on paper, starting with head-to-head record, so the last day of the season decides the field outright. HideScore orders clubs by record, and a dead heat is the one case where MLB's final seeding can differ from the table until the league announces it.
After the final Sunday
The regular season ends on Sunday, September 27 and the Wild Card Series starts on Tuesday, September 29, on NBC and Peacock. From that point the wild card standings stop moving and the question becomes the bracket, which is the next tab over in the same panel.
What HideScore helps with
- Both leagues' wild card races in seed order, bye line and cut line included.
- Every club still alive, with its chance of the playoffs, the division and a wild card.
- Games back of the last seat, one checkbox away.
- The Wild Card Series pairings one tab over, with the network for each round.
- Games back and series results kept off until you ask for them.
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Open the spoiler-free boardFrequently asked questions
What are the MLB wild card standings right now?
The panel above opens in seed order for both leagues, so seeds 4, 5 and 6 are the three wild-card seats, and every club listed under still alive is chasing them. Each row carries that club's chance of taking a wild card.
How many wild card teams are there in MLB?
Six in all, three per league. They are the three best records in each league among the clubs that do not win a division.
How does the MLB Wild Card Series work?
It is a best-of-three series with every game at the higher seed's park. The 4 seed hosts the 5 seed, and the 3 seed, the lowest division winner, hosts the 6 seed. The winners go on to face the 1 and 2 seeds in the Division Series.
How are ties in the wild card race broken?
By formula. MLB dropped tiebreaker games after 2021, so there is no Game 163. A tie for a seat is settled on paper, starting with the head-to-head record between the clubs involved. HideScore orders clubs by record, so for a dead heat on the final day check MLB's announced seeding.
What does games back mean in the wild card race?
How far a club trails the club holding the last wild-card seat, counted in games. Tick Show games back on the panel to add it. A club outside the six shows how many games it trails the third wild card by, and the first two wild cards show how many games they lead the third by.
When is the 2026 Wild Card Series?
Tuesday, September 29 through Thursday, October 1, on NBC and Peacock. The regular season ends on Sunday, September 27, so the wild-card field is set that night.