MLB's Rule Guaranteeing Division Winners a Top-3 Playoff Seed Draws Fresh Scrutiny This October
Should MLB scrap its guaranteed top-three seeds for division winners and seed strictly by record instead? With the 2026 regular season closing this weekend, MLB's playoff seeding rule is back under the microscope. Under the current format, each league's three division winners automatically receive seeds No. 1 through No. 3, while the three wild card teams are locked into seeds No. 4 through No. 6, regardless of which teams actually posted better records. That means a wild card team can never receive a top-two seed even if it outperforms a division winner over 162 games.
The rule has mattered before. In 2023, the Tampa Bay Rays won 99 games, the American League's second-best record, but did not win the AL East and were locked into a lower wild card seed as a result. This year's American League race has again spotlighted the issue, with the Yankees sitting several games behind the division-leading Rays but still on pace to face the Boston Red Sox in a wild card series rematch, while a weaker division winner elsewhere could land a first-round bye. The AL West, AL Central and NL wild card races remained unsettled with just days left on the schedule.
Former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has publicly questioned whether the expanded 12-team postseason format devalues the 162-game season, since teams hovering near .500 can still reach October. Defenders of the current bracket point to two straight seasons without a 100-win team as evidence the parity is real, arguing the format keeps more fan bases engaged deep into September.
The case for:
Guaranteeing a top-three seed to every division winner rewards a full season of dominance within a team's own division, not just its overall win total.
The rule keeps division races meaningful, since teams know winning their division carries a tangible seeding benefit even against a stronger wild card club.
Seeding by division title rather than raw record has been part of MLB's format since the expanded playoff era began and hasn't required a major rule change to function.
The case against:
The rule can hand a bye or top seed to a weaker division winner over a wild card team with a clearly better record, as happened to the 99-win 2023 Rays.
Seeding strictly by record would make the bracket a more accurate reflection of which teams actually performed best over 162 games.
Combined with an expanded 12-team field, the guaranteed seeding rule adds to concerns that the regular season carries less weight than it used to.
What's your take?
Should MLB scrap its guaranteed top-three seeds for division winners and seed strictly by record instead? Yes 
No 
Other 
#MLB #Playoffs #Baseball #SportsDebate
Now let's hear from you.
You get one Take and 3 ratings so use them well.
Strong arguments beat loud ones. See Moving The Needle (How to)
Don't forget to rate your own Take.
Please don't feed the trolls.
