posted on Sep, 12 2005 @ 08:20 PM
MLB announced this today:
The hard-charging Cleveland Indians continued their hot streak on Monday, hours before even taking the field against Oakland.
Leading the American League Wild Card race and suddenly also very much on the heels of the Central Division-leading Chicago White Sox, the Indians
were the big winners Monday -- when MLB establishes scenarios for one-game playoffs in the event of ties at the end of the regular-season schedule.
Another significant decision went the way of the New York Yankees, who, in the event they tie Boston for the American League East title, would host
the Red Sox in the one-game tiebreaker. The two teams will wrap up the schedule with a three-game series in Fenway Park and, if needed, commute to the
Bronx for the next day's playoff.
The Yankees would also be the home team to the A's if the teams tie for the AL Wild Card.
MLB determines playoff sites through a series of coin flips. They must have been flipping an Indian-head nickel, because Jacobs Field would host any
playoff game involving the Tribe.
If the AL Central race ends in a tie, the Indians would host the White Sox. The same would go for a Wild Card tie between the Indians and either the
Yankees or the Oakland A's.
Making the best calls in the National League were the Phillies and Nationals.
With all three NL division races relatively decisive, coin flips were used only to determine sites for tiebreakers involving the Wild Card.
Both the Phillies (against the Astros or Marlins) and the Nats (against the Phillies or the Marlins) have two chances of hosting a possible tiebreaker
at Citizens Bank Park and RFK Stadium, respectively.
In the remaining scenarios, the Marlins would host the Astros at Dolphins Stadium, and the Astros and Nationals would play off in Houston's Minute
Maid Park.
With match races forming in each of the three AL divisions, MLB had to also account for possible tiebreakers to determine champions.
In addition to the Yankees hosting the Red Sox and the Indians hosting the White Sox, a tie atop the AL West between Los Angeles and Oakland would be
resolved in Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
In the event three clubs finish the season with the same winning percentage in either league, with one of them a division winner and another the Wild
Card, the two teams tied for the division lead would play the one-game tiebreaker.
The winner would be declared the division champion, and the losing team would engage the club from the other division for the Wild Card.