Atie-breaker was required inMajor League Baseball (MLB) when two or more teams were tied at the end of theregular season for apostseason position such as a leaguepennant (prior to the introduction of the League Championship Series in 1969), a division title, or awild card spot. Until 2022, both theAmerican League (AL) and theNational League (NL) used aone-game playoff format fortie-breakers, although the NL used abest-of-three series prior to 1969, when the leagues were split into divisions. As these tie-breaker games counted as part of the regular season and MLB teams (American League beginning in 1961, and National League beginning in 1962) have 162-game regular season schedules, the tie-breaker games were sometimes referred to as "Game 163".^[1][2] In 2022, as part of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement to end the2021–22 Major League Baseball lockout, tiebreaker games were replaced with statistical tiebreaker procedures.^[3][4][5]

Sixteentie-breakers – 12 single-game and four series – have been played in MLB history. Inbaseball statistics,tie-breaker games counted as regular season games with all events in them counted towards regular season statistics. This had implications on statistical races, such as whenMatt Holliday won thebatting average andruns batted in titles thanks in part to his performance in the2007tie-breaker.^[6] Home-field advantage fortie-breakers was determined by acoin flip through the 2008 season, after which performance-based criteria, starting with head-to-head record of the tied teams, were put in place.^[7]

Although there have been no situations requiring atie-breaker between more than two teams, it was possible. In2007, for example, thePhiladelphia Phillies,New York Mets,San Diego Padres,Colorado Rockies, andArizona Diamondbacks finished the season within two games of one another.^[8] The possibility existed for as many as four teams to be locked in a series oftie-breakers that year to decide the NL East, West, and Wild Card.^[9] Similarly, late in the2012 season the possibility existed for theNew York Yankees,Baltimore Orioles, and either theTexas Rangers orOakland Athletics to all finish with the same record. This could have required the teams to play a complex set of multiple games to determine divisional and wild card winners, a situation whichJayson Stark described as potentially "baseball's worst scheduling nightmare."^[10]

The firsttie-breaker,held in 1946, decided the winner of the NL pennant between theSt. Louis Cardinals and theBrooklyn Dodgers, who had finished the season tied at 96–58.^[11] The Cardinals won the series in two games and went on to win the1946 World Series,^[12] one of fourtie-breaker winners who have gone on to win theWorld Series. Threetie-breaker games have gone intoextra innings: the decisive second game of the 1959 series, the 2007 Wild Cardtie-breaker, and the 2009 game.^[13][14][15] The 2008tie-breaker, a 1–0 victory for theWhite Sox, was the lowest scoring game, while the 2007 match-up with 17 total runs was the highest scoring. The Dodgers franchise has participated in sixtie-breakers, twice while the team was based in Brooklyn and four times in Los Angeles, the most for any team.Dodger Stadium,Ebbets Field,Fenway Park, thePolo Grounds andWrigley Field are the only venues which have hosted multipletie-breaker games. Both games at the Polo Grounds came in the 1951 series.

One of the most famous moments in MLB history came in the final game of the 1951 National Leaguetie-breaker series. Entering the bottom of the ninth inning theNew York Giants were trailing the Dodgers 4–1.Al Dark andDon Mueller each singled to putrunners onfirst andthird base.^[16]Whitey Lockman hit adouble, scoring Dark to make the game 4–2. Finally,Bobby Thomson hit awalk-off home run which has come to be known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" to give the Giants the 5–4 victory and the National League pennant.ESPN'sSportsCentury ranked it as the second greatest game of the 20th century.^[17] In 1962, the first season of the NL expanded schedule to 162 games, the only best-of-three tie breaker in the 162-game season took place between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers with the Giants winning 2–1. This was the longest regular season schedule ever played by 2 teams at 165 games, a record that will almost certainly never be matched. The 2000s saw three years of consecutive one-run tiebreaker games. The Rockies stormed back from a 2-run deficit in the 13th in 2007, winning 9–8 in a surprising run to the World Series that year. In 2008, aJim Thome home run and a stellar performance byJohn Danks helped the White Sox edge out the Twins 1–0. The Twins ended up on the winning side the following year, tying the game in the 10th after going down a run and then walking off in the 12th inning to defeat the Tigers 6–5.

In 2018, two tiebreakers were played to conclude the season for the first time in MLB history. TheNL West was decided between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies, while theNL Central was decided between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs. The Dodgers and Brewers, the winners of these games, advanced to the NLDS, while the losers played each other in the Wild Card game.^[1][2]

Despite one team playing on their home field, tie-breakers have not favored the home team statistically, with the home team having gone 11–11 since the first tie-breaker game was played.

Starting with the2022 season, as part of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement to end the2021–22 Major League Baseball lockout, MLB added a third wild card team in each league, expanding the playoffs to12 teams, and abolishing the tiebreaker game format. Ties will only be broken with a set of statistical procedures.^[3][4][5]

During the2024 season,Hurricane Helene postponed two games from a late September Braves/Mets series. With no other common off-days, these games were rescheduled for Monday, September 30, one day after the regular season was scheduled to end. Major League Baseball announced the games would not be played if the games did not have playoff implications.^[18] However, these games did have playoff implications, resulting in this doubleheader becoming a pseudo-tiebreaker. If either the Mets or the Braves won both games, that team would advance to theWild Card Series along with the Diamondbacks. If the games were split, both the Braves and the Mets would make the playoffs.^[19] The Mets and Braves split the games, resulting in both teams advancing to the playoffs.

This only lists teams who participated in at least one tiebreaker game, and lists them under their current identities.

† In cases where a series was played, win–loss total reflects outcome of the series, not individual games.

A tiebreaker involving three teams or more would have involved a more complex series of match-ups to determine what team(s) earned what playoff berth(s). This scenario never actually occurred but, on a few occasions, it was close enough that the teams involved selected tiebreaker designation in anticipation of such a scenario.^[39]

While such a tie had never occurred, teams within range were requested to choose between designations A, B, and C in case. Team A hosted Team B. The winner would then host Team C, with the winner of that game getting the wild card spot.

While such a tie had never occurred, teams within range were requested to choose between designations A, B, and C in case. Team A hosted Team B, with the winner awarded one spot. Team C would host the loser of the first game, with the winner getting the other spot.

While such a tie had never occurred, teams within range were requested to choose between designations A, B, C, and D in case. Team A hosted Team B. Team C hosted Team D. The winners of each game would have been awarded a wild-card spot.

The following lists the statistics used to break tie-breaks. The team winning the tie-break isbolded. ꬸ indicates the team losing the tie-break missed the postseason.

• Major League Baseball tie-breaker games
• Major League Baseball lists

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