Curiosity About Multi-Team Tiebreakers

StLee · 07-18-2024, 02:25 PM

This is not an issue that I currently have, but I do have a high school feeder league with 80 teams and 32 qualifiers for the playoffs. In the case of wildcard selections for multiple teams tied at season's end, I was wondering if OOTP uses the same system as the MLB (https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-playoff-tiebreaker-rules).

Be it a tie atop the division, a tie for the final Wild Card spot, a tie between two division winners (with postseason seeding at stake) or any other tie that would affect the postseason field, tiebreakers will be determined in this order.

1. Head-to-head record
The first and simplest tiebreaker is the result of the season series between the tied teams. If Team X and Team Y tie for the top spot in the division and Team X went 10-8 against Team Y, then Team X is the division champion.

It's more complex for three-team ties.

If the three clubs DO NOT all have identical records against one another and Team X has a better record against Teams Y and Z, then Team X is the qualifier. If Team X and Y have identical records against one another and each has a better record against Team Z, then Teams X and Y follow the two-club tiebreaker rules to determine the qualifier. Otherwise, the three clubs are ranked by their overall winning percentage against one another, and the club with the highest overall winning percentage is the qualifier. If two of the clubs have identical winning percentages in this scenario, then they would follow the two-club tiebreaker procedure.

If the three clubs DO have identical records against one another, then the team with the best intradivision record (see below) is the qualifier.

Note: If the three teams are tied for a division championship plus one Wild Card spot, then, once the above is used to determine the division champ, the remaining two teams revert to the two-team tiebreaker procedure to determine the Wild Card.

2. Intradivision Record
If the head-to-head record is also a tie, then the involved clubs’ records within their division will break the tie. This applies even if the tie is for a Wild Card spot between two teams that do not reside in the same division. The team with the superior intradivision record would win the tiebreaker.

3. Interdivision Record
In the event of a head-to-head and intradivision record tie for the involved teams, then the tie would be settled based on how they fared against teams within their league but outside of their division. So for an AL East team, it would be the record against teams from the AL Central and AL West.

4. Last Half of Intraleague Games
Should the interdivision record also be a tie, the next tiebreaker will be determined by the involved clubs’ last-half records against teams within their league (AL for AL teams, NL for NL teams). Note that these are the records from the last half of games mathematically, not just the games after the All-Star break (which typically comes after the mathematical midpoint).

5. Last Half of Intraleague Games Plus One
Should the records of the involved clubs in the second half of intraleague games also be a tie, then the outcome of the last game of the first half of intraleague games is used. Should that also be a tie, then the previous intraleague game on the schedule is used. This process is repeated until the tie is resolved.

Matt Arnold · 07-18-2024, 02:44 PM

The first 3 we do follow more or less. After that I believe we handle it by run differentials (run diff in head to head first, then run diff in all games, then by runs allowed). Which I think follows some international tiebreak rules more (or at least was the WBC tiebreak setup)

StLee · 07-19-2024, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Arnold

The first 3 we do follow more or less. After that I believe we handle it by run differentials (run diff in head to head first, then run diff in all games, then by runs allowed). Which I think follows some international tiebreak rules more (or at least was the WBC tiebreak setup)

Thanks for the info!

Le Grande Orange · 07-19-2024, 11:27 PM

The tiebreaking steps for division and wild card ties in MLB can be summarized thusly:

(1) Head-to-head record
(2) Intradivision record
(3) Intraleague record
(4) Last half of Intraleague record (this means since the All-Star Break)
(5) Last half plus one of Intraleague record (continued as needed)

The minor leagues use the following to break a tie at the end of the first or second half:

(1) Head-to-head record in the applicable half
(2) Record over the last 20 games
(3) Record over the last 21 games (continued as needed)

07-18-2024, 02:25 PM	#1
StLee Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: NC Posts: 5,143	Curiosity About Multi-Team Tiebreakers This is not an issue that I currently have, but I do have a high school feeder league with 80 teams and 32 qualifiers for the playoffs. In the case of wildcard selections for multiple teams tied at season's end, I was wondering if OOTP uses the same system as the MLB (https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-playoff-tiebreaker-rules). Be it a tie atop the division, a tie for the final Wild Card spot, a tie between two division winners (with postseason seeding at stake) or any other tie that would affect the postseason field, tiebreakers will be determined in this order. 1. Head-to-head record The first and simplest tiebreaker is the result of the season series between the tied teams. If Team X and Team Y tie for the top spot in the division and Team X went 10-8 against Team Y, then Team X is the division champion. It's more complex for three-team ties. If the three clubs DO NOT all have identical records against one another and Team X has a better record against Teams Y and Z, then Team X is the qualifier. If Team X and Y have identical records against one another and each has a better record against Team Z, then Teams X and Y follow the two-club tiebreaker rules to determine the qualifier. Otherwise, the three clubs are ranked by their overall winning percentage against one another, and the club with the highest overall winning percentage is the qualifier. If two of the clubs have identical winning percentages in this scenario, then they would follow the two-club tiebreaker procedure. If the three clubs DO have identical records against one another, then the team with the best intradivision record (see below) is the qualifier. Note: If the three teams are tied for a division championship plus one Wild Card spot, then, once the above is used to determine the division champ, the remaining two teams revert to the two-team tiebreaker procedure to determine the Wild Card. 2. Intradivision Record If the head-to-head record is also a tie, then the involved clubs’ records within their division will break the tie. This applies even if the tie is for a Wild Card spot between two teams that do not reside in the same division. The team with the superior intradivision record would win the tiebreaker. 3. Interdivision Record In the event of a head-to-head and intradivision record tie for the involved teams, then the tie would be settled based on how they fared against teams within their league but outside of their division. So for an AL East team, it would be the record against teams from the AL Central and AL West. 4. Last Half of Intraleague Games Should the interdivision record also be a tie, the next tiebreaker will be determined by the involved clubs’ last-half records against teams within their league (AL for AL teams, NL for NL teams). Note that these are the records from the last half of games mathematically, not just the games after the All-Star break (which typically comes after the mathematical midpoint). 5. Last Half of Intraleague Games Plus One Should the records of the involved clubs in the second half of intraleague games also be a tie, then the outcome of the last game of the first half of intraleague games is used. Should that also be a tie, then the previous intraleague game on the schedule is used. This process is repeated until the tie is resolved. __________________ Fan of LSU sports (especially baseball and football), New Orleans Saints, New Orleans Pelicans, and Atlanta Braves (Dale Murphy for the HOF!). Current dynasties: Fallout 4's Commonwealth Baseball Organization Completed dynasty: Fallout: New Vegas' Mojave Baseball League Uniforms: My custom uniforms

07-18-2024, 02:44 PM	#2
Matt Arnold OOTP Developer Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Here and there Posts: 16,232	The first 3 we do follow more or less. After that I believe we handle it by run differentials (run diff in head to head first, then run diff in all games, then by runs allowed). Which I think follows some international tiebreak rules more (or at least was the WBC tiebreak setup)

07-19-2024, 11:27 PM	#4
Le Grande Orange Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Up There Posts: 15,642	The tiebreaking steps for division and wild card ties in MLB can be summarized thusly: (1) Head-to-head record (2) Intradivision record (3) Intraleague record (4) Last half of Intraleague record (this means since the All-Star Break) (5) Last half plus one of Intraleague record (continued as needed) The minor leagues use the following to break a tie at the end of the first or second half: (1) Head-to-head record in the applicable half (2) Record over the last 20 games (3) Record over the last 21 games (continued as needed)