MLB Season and How Many Games
The Major League Baseball (MLB) season is filled with intense competition, thrilling moments and the opportunity to watch some of the world’s greatest athletes display their talents on the field. But how many games actually make up an MLB season?
Regular Season
The MLB regular season consists of 162 games for each of the 30 teams across the league. This includes 81 games played at the home stadium, followed by 81 games on the road.
Divisional and Interleague Play
The majority of each 81-game home and away schedule consists of opponents from the same division. For example, if a team plays 81 games in their home stadium, 76 of those will be against the four other teams in the team’s division, while the remaining five games are played against a different division within the same league. The same formula is replicated for the away games, where interleague play also occurs. These six games rotate on a regular basis.
Postseason Games
The regular season games culminate in the postseason, where additional games are played across three rounds of playoffs. This begins with the Wild Card, where two teams from each division (one from the American and one from the National league) face off in a one-game playoff. The winners will then join the teams with the three best records from each division that advance directly to the Divison Series. This is followed by the Championship Series, and finally the World Series – the MLB version of the Super Bowl. The highest ranked team from each league plays until a champion is crowned.
How Many Games in an MLB Season?
In total, an MLB season consists of 162 regular season games, plus up to seven postseason games if the team reaches the World Series. That is a total of 169 games, broken down as follows:
- Regular Season: 162 games
- Postseason: Wild Card – 1 game, Division Series – 3 games, Championship Series – 7 games, World Series – 4 games (maximum total)
An MLB season is a long and grueling one, but it always promises thrilling matchups and even more thrilling results as teams battle it out on the field.
