MLB Postseason Guide
| Round | Format | Home field |
|---|---|---|
| Wild Card Series | Best-of-3 | All games at the higher seed's park |
| Division Series | Best-of-5 | 2-2-1 (higher seed hosts 3 games) |
| Championship Series | Best-of-7 | 2-3-2 (higher seed hosts 4 games) |
| World Series | Best-of-7 | 2-3-2 (better regular-season record hosts) |
Compiled directly from the actual home/away assignments in MLB's official schedule. Rules can change season to season.
Seeds 4-6 face seeds 3-6 in a best-of-3 series, and all three games are played at the higher seed's (3 or 4) home park. The lower seed carries the full travel burden while the higher seed never leaves home — a real advantage.
The Wild Card Series winner faces the 1 or 2 seed. It's best-of-5, with Games 1-2 (and Game 5, if needed) at the higher seed's park and Games 3-4 at the lower seed's park — the higher seed can host up to 3 of 5 games.
Both the ALCS/NLCS and the World Series are best-of-7, with Games 1-2 and 6-7 at the higher seed's park and Games 3-4-5 at the lower seed's park. In the World Series, the "higher seed" isn't decided by division/wild-card rank — it's whichever pennant winner had the better regular-season record.
Every round gives the higher seed a bigger share of home games. The Wild Card Series is played entirely at their park with zero travel, and from the Division Series on they can host more than half the possible games.
It used to go to whichever league won the All-Star Game. Now it simply goes to whichever pennant winner has the better regular-season record.
Rounds with a travel day (Division Series and up) let the road team rest before playing too, so it's not a pure disadvantage — but across the full series, the higher seed still comes out ahead on home games.