A review of historical postseason formats

bwburke94 · 01-28-2014, 12:12 PM

Pre-1922 formats varied depending on the distance between the cities, I'm using the closest approximations here. The 1921 World Series was a Subway Series with alternating "home field", but the 1920 format would have presumably been used had the Yankees not been involved. The same goes for 1944, which would presumably have used the 1943/45 format.

*1871-1904: One round, best-of-9 (3h 4a 2h)
1905-1917: One round, best-of-7 (2h 2a 1h 1a 1h)
1918: One round, best-of-7 (3a 4h) - World War I
1919-1921: One round, best-of-9 (3h 4a 2h)
1922-1942: One round, best-of-7 (2h 3a 2h)
1943-1945: One round, best-of-7 (3a 4h) - World War II
1946-1968: One round, best-of-7 (2h 3a 2h)
1969-1984: Two rounds, 5/7 (2a 3h/2h 3a 2h)
1985-1993: Two rounds, 7/7 (2h 3a 2h/2h 3a 2h)
1994-1997: Three rounds, 5/7/7 (2a 3h/2h 3a 2h/2h 3a 2h)
1998-2011: Three rounds, 5/7/7 (2h 2a 1h/2h 3a 2h/2h 3a 2h)
2012: Four rounds, 1/5/7/7 (1/2a 3h/2h 3a 2h/2h 3a 2h)
2013-present: Four rounds, 1/5/7/7 (1/2h 2a 1h/2h 3a 2h/2h 3a 2h)

*Used only in 1903 IRL, no World Series in 1904. Since nineteenth century WS formats were so varied, the 1903 format should probably be used.

Home field formats:

WORLD SERIES

1871-1994: AL home odd years, NL home even years
1995-2002: AL home even years, NL home odd years
2003-present: All-Star Game winner

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

1969-1984: AL East/NL West home even years, AL West/NL East home odd years
1985-1993: AL East/NL West home odd years, AL West/NL East home even years
**1994-1997: Home team is the winner of the series that did not contain the wild card
1998-present: Home team is the better seed

**This is a simplification of the real life format, since the real format is impossible to replicate in OOTP.

DIVISION SERIES
Note: Prior to 2012, the home teams swap if the wild card would play the winner of their division. However, this stipulation is not possible in OOTP.

1994: AL West @ AL East, AL WC @ AL Central, NL Central @ NL East, NL WC @ NL West
1995: AL East @ AL Central, AL WC @ AL West, NL West @ NL Central, NL WC @ NL East
1996: AL Central @ AL West, AL WC @ AL East, NL East @ NL West, NL WC @ NL Central
1997: AL West @ AL East, AL WC @ AL Central, NL Central @ NL East, NL WC @ NL West
1998-present: Seeding-based, reseeding is irrelevant but should be turned on

WILD CARD GAME

2012-present: Seeding-based

nutt · 01-28-2014, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwburke94

Pre-1922 formats varied depending on the distance between the cities, I'm using the closest approximations here. The 1921 World Series was a Subway Series with alternating "home field", but the 1920 format would have presumably been used had the Yankees not been involved. The same goes for 1944, which would presumably have used the 1943/45 format.

*1871-1904: One round, best-of-9 (3h 4a 2h)
1905-1917: One round, best-of-7 (2h 2a 1h 1a 1h)
1918: One round, best-of-7 (3a 4h) - World War I
1919-1921: One round, best-of-9 (3h 4a 2h)
1922-1942: One round, best-of-7 (2h 3a 2h)
1943-1945: One round, best-of-7 (3a 4h) - World War II
1946-1968: One round, best-of-7 (2h 3a 2h)
1969-1984: Two rounds, 5/7 (2a 3h/2h 3a 2h)
1985-1993: Two rounds, 7/7 (2h 3a 2h/2h 3a 2h)
1994-1997: Three rounds, 5/7/7 (2a 3h/2h 3a 2h/2h 3a 2h)
1998-2011: Three rounds, 5/7/7 (2h 2a 1h/2h 3a 2h/2h 3a 2h)
2012: Four rounds, 1/5/7/7 (1/2a 3h/2h 3a 2h/2h 3a 2h)
2013-present: Four rounds, 1/5/7/7 (1/2h 2a 1h/2h 3a 2h/2h 3a 2h)

*Used only in 1903 IRL, no World Series in 1904. Since nineteenth century WS formats were so varied, the 1903 format should probably be used.

Home field formats:

WORLD SERIES

1871-1994: AL home odd years, NL home even years
1995-2002: AL home even years, NL home odd years
2003-present: All-Star Game winner

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

1969-1984: AL East/NL West home even years, AL West/NL East home odd years
1985-1993: AL East/NL West home odd years, AL West/NL East home even years
**1994-1997: Home team is the winner of the series that did not contain the wild card
1998-present: Home team is the better seed

**This is a simplification of the real life format, since the real format is impossible to replicate in OOTP.

DIVISION SERIES
Note: Prior to 2012, the home teams swap if the wild card would play the winner of their division. However, this stipulation is not possible in OOTP.

1994: AL West @ AL East, AL WC @ AL Central, NL Central @ NL East, NL WC @ NL West
1995: AL East @ AL Central, AL WC @ AL West, NL West @ NL Central, NL WC @ NL East
1996: AL Central @ AL West, AL WC @ AL East, NL East @ NL West, NL WC @ NL Central
1997: AL West @ AL East, AL WC @ AL Central, NL Central @ NL East, NL WC @ NL West
1998-present: Seeding-based, reseeding is irrelevant but should be turned on

WILD CARD GAME

2012-present: Seeding-based

I thought the LCS HFA from 1995-1997 was based off of which divisional champion did NOT have HFA in the first round if they advanced. The way I remember it from Baseball Weekly is this:

1995: NL East vs. NL Wild Card, NL West vs. NL Central; NL Central has HFA if they advance to NLCS.

Le Grande Orange · 01-28-2014, 03:38 PM

Someone's pitching into my wheelhouse I see.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwburke94

Pre-1922 formats varied depending on the distance between the cities...

That, and also coin tosses. That is, the site where the first game(s) would be played, sometimes along with where the final game of the series would be played, were determined by coin tosses. This was true up to and including the 1924 World Series. The 2-3-2 pattern, with the start site alternating between leagues, wasn't formally adopted until 1925 (and even then there were apparently some exceptions permitted through 1934).

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwburke94

**1994-1997: Home team is the winner of the series that did not contain the wild card

1994: AL West @ AL East, AL WC @ AL Central, NL Central @ NL East, NL WC @ NL West
1995: AL East @ AL Central, AL WC @ AL West, NL West @ NL Central, NL WC @ NL East
1996: AL Central @ AL West, AL WC @ AL East, NL East @ NL West, NL WC @ NL Central
1997: AL West @ AL East, AL WC @ AL Central, NL Central @ NL East, NL WC @ NL West

For those wondering how it really worked from 1994-97, certain divisions were assigned home field advantage for the playoffs. If a matchup had two clubs with neither having the assigned home field advantage, then the matchups were changed.

Here is how home field advantage was assigned to the divisions:

1994: AL East*, AL Central; NL Central, NL West*
1995: AL East, AL West*; NL East, NL Central*
1996: AL Central*, AL West; NL East*, NL West
1997: AL East*, AL Central; NL Central, NL West*

Divisions marked with an * also received home field advantage for the LCS, or it went to the club that defeated them (excluding the wild card).

Here's an example of how this arrangement affected the matchups for the Division Series. In 1995 the AL standings looked like this:

Code:

1. Cleveland  AL Central  .694
2. Boston     AL EAST     .597
3. Seattle    AL WEST*    .544
==============================
4. New York   AL East     .548

Under current rules, the matchups would be New York vs. Cleveland and Seattle vs. Boston, with Cleveland and Boston having home field advantage in the series, respectively.

But because home field advantage was assigned to the East and West divisions, New York can't play Cleveland since Cleveland doesn't have home field advantage. It can't play Boston either since they are both from the same division. So New York plays Seattle and Cleveland plays Boston, with Seattle and Boston having the home field advantage. If Seattle wins it gets home field advantage for the ALCS; if it loses then the winner of Boston/Cleveland gets home field advantage since New York, as a wild card, never gets home field advantage.

It is perhaps easier to see how the matchups work by rearranging the standings. First, order by record the two clubs from the divisions assigned home field advantage; third place goes to the remaining division winner; and fourth place goes to the wild card qualifier. The 1995 AL standings now look like this:

Code:

1. Boston     AL EAST     .597
2. Seattle    AL WEST*    .544
------------------------------
3. Cleveland  AL Central  .694
==============================
4. New York   AL East     .548

Now it's clear how the matchups work. #3 plays #2 and #4 plays #1, unless they are from the same division, in which case #4 plays #2 and #3 plays #1. Which is exactly how the matchups in 1995 actually proceeded.

le receveur · 01-28-2014, 03:46 PM

thanks. nice work.

i know it was because of the strike, but was 1981 considered 3 rounds of playoff, or the first additional round only to determine the division champion, and not considered play-off?

BIG17EASY · 01-28-2014, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by le receveur

thanks. nice work.

i know it was because of the strike, but was 1981 considered 3 rounds of playoff, or the first additional round only to determine the division champion, and not considered play-off?

It was three rounds necessitated by the strike, which created two halves and no team won its division in both halves. It was not the format that would have been used had there been no strike.

bwburke94 · 01-29-2014, 01:26 PM

Re: 1994-1997

Under the format in my post, the non-hosting division winner indeed gets HFA if they advance to the LCS. OOTP unfortunately cannot set HFA for every possible combination of teams, so it's impossible to replicate the exact rules.

thehef · 01-29-2014, 08:27 PM

This is a great subject!

At the risk of being redundant as to what's already been posted above, I'm including my compilation of postseason-related historical rules, which includes scheduling parameters for MLB postseason series' (info for division series not as complete as WS and LCS) and also info tiebreakers and make-up game policy. Significant pieces of this were obtained from LGO's postings over the years... I refer to this often when I approach the end of my OOTP historical seasons.

Code:

WORLD SERIES 
Best-of
1903, 1919-1921        9
1905-1918, 1922-       7
 
Home/Away Format
1903 (best of 9)       3-4-1 according to a teams-negotiated agreement
1905-1917, 1922-1924   alternating games or 2-2-1-1, depending upon geography
1919-1920 (best of 9)  3-4-1, 2-3-2-1, or alternating games, depending upon geography (341 may have only been used due to ballpark availability issues in 1920)
1921 (best of 9)       2-2-2-2 or alternating games, depending upon geography (possibly 341 or 2321 if contending teams had presented possible geography issues)
1925-                  2-3-2 (alternating parks were likely the rule for same city matchups thru 1935)
war years: 
1918                   alternating games if both teams from same city, else 3-4 (entire schedule determined by National Commission)
1943-1945              2-3-2 if no travel days required, else 3-4
 
Opening Game(s) Location
1905-1909              determined by National Commission (lot or discretion) 
1910-1917, 1919-1924   coin toss between owners of the two 1st-place clinching teams
1925-1935              NL in odd years/AL in even years
1936-1993              NL in even years/AL in odd years (change in 1936 due to rule not followed in 1935)
1994                   playoffs not held but would have opened in AL due to potential conflicts with NFL, due to MLB's expanded playoffs (1995 & 1996 World Series' would've both opened in NL)
1995-2002              NL in odd years/AL in even years (change in 1995 due to no World Series in 1994)
2003-                  awarded to team from league that wins the All-Star Game
war years:
1918                   unclear if determined by National Commission or by coin toss
 
Final Game Location
1905-1908              determined by National Commission (in practice, a coin flip called by league presidents or team managers)
1909-1917, 1922-1924   coin toss prior to game 6 (so teams know ahead of time if travel be required between games 6 & 7)
1919-1921 (best of 9)  coin toss prior to game 8 (so teams know ahead of time if travel be required between games 8 & 9)
1925-                  fixed site, based upon 2-3-2 format (alternating parks were likely the rule for same city matchups thru 1935)
war years:
1918                   3-4 format, entire schedule determined by National Commission
1943-1945              2-3-2 format dictates location of final two games unless 3-4 format required due to travel
 
Days Off Prior to Start of Series
1906-1920              typically one
1921-1968              typically two, ocassionally 1 or 3
1969-1976              varies, begins on Saturday following the conclusion of LCS'
1977-1984              varies, begins on Tuesday following the conclusion of LCS'
1985-2006              varies, begins on Saturday following the conclusion of LCS'
2007-                  varies, begins on Wednesday following the conclusion of LCS'
 
Off Days During Series
1905-1934              typically no off days unless needed for travel or due to Sunday baseball prohibitions
                       Eastern states' Sunday baseball prohibition lifted:
                        1918 - Washington, DC
                        1919 - New York
                        1929 - Massachusetts
                        1934 - Pennsylvania
                        (no Sunday baseball prohibition in other MLB states: Illinios, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio)
1935-1940, 1947-1959   typically no off days unless needed for travel*
1941-1946              off day between games 6 and 7 regardless of geography (apparently to boost game 7 ticket sales)
1960-1963              off days after games 2 and 5 unless same city, in which case no off days
1964                   off days after games 2 and 5 if cities 300+ miles apart, else no off days
1965-                  travel days/off days scheduled after games 2 & 5, regardless of geography
war years:
1943-1944              for 3-4 format: if no days normally required for travel, then one day alloted; if one day normally required for travel, then two days alloted (no travel days for same city 2-3-2 matchup)
* as airplane travel became an option in the mid-to-late 50's, the definition of "needed for travel" began to evolve


LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Best of
1969-1984             5
1985-                 7

Home/Away Format
1969-1984             2-3
1985-                 2-3-2

Opening Games Location
1969-1985             AL East in odd years, AL West in even years; NL West in odd years, NL East in even years
1986-1997             AL West in odd years, AL East in even years; NL East in odd years, NL West in even years
1998-                 fixed site, based upon 2-3-2 format, with first two games and last two games going to the team seeded highest

Final Game Location
1969-                 fixed site, based upon 2-3 or 2-3-2 format

Start of Series
1969-1976             Both series' start on the Saturday following the end of regular season
                       1969-1971 - 1 day between conclusion of season and start of playoffs
                       1972 - 2 days
                       1973 - 5 days
                       1974 - 2 days
                       1975-1976 - 5 days
1977-1993             Series' start on staggered Tuesday/Wednesday following end of regular season on Sunday
                       1977-1983 - NL starts on Tuesday (& has off day) in odd years; starts on Wednesday (no off day) in even years
                                   AL starts on Tuesday (& has off day) in even years; starts on Wednesday (no off day) in odd years
                        NOTE - 1980 & 1981 were exceptions (1980: NL started first despite even year, unknown reason; 1981: strike year / split-season rules)
                       1984    - both series' started on same day (Tuesday), unknown reason (ballpark availability?)
                       1985-86 - AL starts on Tuesday, NL starts on Wednesday
                       1987    - NL starts on Tuesday, AL starts on Wednesday
                       1988-?? - NL starts on Tuesday & AL starts on Wednesday in even years; AL starts on Tuesday and NL starts on Wednesday in odd years
1993-??               (depends on Division series' conclusion??)
1995-2004, 2006       following completion of division series', NL starts on Tuesday, AL starts on Wednesday in odd years; AL starts on Tuesday, NL starts on Wednesday in even years
2005                  following completion of division series', NL starts on Tuesday, AL starts on Wednesday in even years; AL starts on Tuesday, NL starts on Wednesday in odd years
2007-2009             following completion of division series', NL starts on Thursday, AL starts on Friday
2010                  following completion of division series', AL starts on Friday, NL starts on Saturday
2011-??               following completion of division series', AL starts on Saturday, NL starts on Sunday

Off Days During Series
1969-1971             Monday travel day if east & west coast teams involved
1972-1974             Monday travel day if west-to-east coast travel involved
1975-1976             Monday travel day regardless of geography
1977-1983             Thursday travel day for series starting first (on Tuesday); no off day for series starting second (on Wednesday)
1984                  AL travel day after game two; NL after game three (an oddity, along with both series' starting on same day - see above section)
1985-2006, 2010-      fixed travel days after games two and five, based upon 2-3-2 format
2007-2009             fixed travel days after games two, four, and five, based upon 2-3-2 format


DIVISION SERIES
Best of
1994-                5

Home/Away Format
1994-1997, 2012      2-3
1998-2011, 2013-     2-2-1

Games Locations
1994-1997            rotation, with two of three division winners getting home field advantage (last three games at home), and the other division winner and the wild card not getting HFA
1998-                two division winners with best records get home field advantage

Determining Who Plays Who
1994-2011            wild card team plays top-seeded divisional champion unless both teams in same division, in which case the wild card team plays second-seeded division champion
2012-                2nd wild card introduced ?????

Start of Series & off Days During Series
See http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/suggestions-next-version-ootp/216807-grab-bag-o-suggestions.html#post3248572


TIEBREAKER PLAYOFF FORMATS
Best of
NL: thru 1968        3
AL: thru mid 1920's  3
AL: mid-1920's-1956  single game
AL: 1957-1968        3
MLB: 1969-           single game

Format / Home Field Advantage
NL: thru early 30's  1-1-TBD, first game site determined by lot or coin toss; third game site determined by NL & Board of Directors - could be at one of the participants' park (possibly determined by lot or coin toss, or geographical considerations) or at neutral park
NL: by 1934-post war 1-2 or 1-1-1, depending upon geography and/or sites, possibly determined by lot or coin toss
NL: post-war -1968   1-2, with sites determined by coin toss

AL: ??-mid 1920's    N-N-N, H-A-N, or H-A-coin toss, depending upon geography and possibly other factors
AL: 1957-1968        1-2, with sites determined by coin toss


MAKEUP GAMES
thru 1950            postponed games must be made up before end of regular season; no regular season game could be played after scheduled end of regular season
1951-                any postponed game having a bearing on a pennant race must be played even if it's after the scheduled end of the regular season
1998-                ???


NOTE: had the Cubs made the post-season, adjusted LCS and WS schedules would likely have applied, if needed, to each LCS from 1975-85 and each WS from 1971-87 (day/night changes between each LCS may have been needed; WS h/a advantage may have been required to put midweek games in AL park, since mid-week games were required to be on at night, per TV contracts). See 
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/suggestions-next-version-ootp/216807-grab-bag-o-suggestions.html#post3249138

01-28-2014, 12:12 PM	#1
bwburke94 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Belchertown, MA, USA Posts: 4,443	A review of historical postseason formats Pre-1922 formats varied depending on the distance between the cities, I'm using the closest approximations here. The 1921 World Series was a Subway Series with alternating "home field", but the 1920 format would have presumably been used had the Yankees not been involved. The same goes for 1944, which would presumably have used the 1943/45 format. 1871-1904: One round, best-of-9 (3h 4a 2h) 1905-1917: One round, best-of-7 (2h 2a 1h 1a 1h) 1918: One round, best-of-7 (3a 4h) - World War I 1919-1921: One round, best-of-9 (3h 4a 2h) 1922-1942: One round, best-of-7 (2h 3a 2h) 1943-1945: One round, best-of-7 (3a 4h) - World War II 1946-1968: One round, best-of-7 (2h 3a 2h) 1969-1984: Two rounds, 5/7 (2a 3h/2h 3a 2h) 1985-1993: Two rounds, 7/7 (2h 3a 2h/2h 3a 2h) 1994-1997: Three rounds, 5/7/7 (2a 3h/2h 3a 2h/2h 3a 2h) 1998-2011: Three rounds, 5/7/7 (2h 2a 1h/2h 3a 2h/2h 3a 2h) 2012: Four rounds, 1/5/7/7 (1/2a 3h/2h 3a 2h/2h 3a 2h) 2013-present: Four rounds, 1/5/7/7 (1/2h 2a 1h/2h 3a 2h/2h 3a 2h) Used only in 1903 IRL, no World Series in 1904. Since nineteenth century WS formats were so varied, the 1903 format should probably be used. Home field formats: WORLD SERIES 1871-1994: AL home odd years, NL home even years 1995-2002: AL home even years, NL home odd years 2003-present: All-Star Game winner LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES 1969-1984: AL East/NL West home even years, AL West/NL East home odd years 1985-1993: AL East/NL West home odd years, AL West/NL East home even years 1994-1997: Home team is the winner of the series that did not contain the wild card 1998-present: Home team is the better seed This is a simplification of the real life format, since the real format is impossible to replicate in OOTP. DIVISION SERIES Note: Prior to 2012, the home teams swap if the wild card would play the winner of their division. However, this stipulation is not possible in OOTP. 1994: AL West @ AL East, AL WC @ AL Central, NL Central @ NL East, NL WC @ NL West 1995: AL East @ AL Central, AL WC @ AL West, NL West @ NL Central, NL WC @ NL East 1996: AL Central @ AL West, AL WC @ AL East, NL East @ NL West, NL WC @ NL Central 1997: AL West @ AL East, AL WC @ AL Central, NL Central @ NL East, NL WC @ NL West 1998-present: Seeding-based, reseeding is irrelevant but should be turned on WILD CARD GAME 2012-present: Seeding-based

01-28-2014, 03:46 PM	#4
le receveur All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: canada Posts: 1,736	thanks. nice work. i know it was because of the strike, but was 1981 considered 3 rounds of playoff, or the first additional round only to determine the division champion, and not considered play-off?

01-29-2014, 01:26 PM	#6
bwburke94 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Belchertown, MA, USA Posts: 4,443	Re: 1994-1997 Under the format in my post, the non-hosting division winner indeed gets HFA if they advance to the LCS. OOTP unfortunately cannot set HFA for every possible combination of teams, so it's impossible to replicate the exact rules.