When Do the Baseball Playoffs Start: The 2026 Schedule Revealed

So, you’re looking at the calendar and wondering when the real season actually begins. We all know the regular season is a long, beautiful grind, but there’s a specific energy that only arrives when the leaves start turning and every pitch feels like a life-or-death situation.

If you're wondering when do the baseball playoffs start, mark your calendar for September 29, 2026.

💡 You might also like: Why Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Still Sets the Standard for Spring Training

That is the official Tuesday kickoff for the Wild Card round. It’s fast. It’s chaotic. Honestly, it's probably the most stressful three days in professional sports if your team is one of the four fighting for their lives in those best-of-three series. Major League Baseball isn't messing around this year; they’ve squeezed a lot of action into a tight window to make sure we get a World Series champion before the calendar flips to November.

The 2026 Postseason Timeline

The regular season wraps up on Sunday, September 27. Everyone gets a breath on Monday—well, except for the managers who are frantically setting their rotations—and then we dive straight into the deep end on Tuesday.

Here is the basic flow of how the month of October is going to look:

• Wild Card Series: Starts September 29. These are best-of-three, and every single game is played at the higher seed's stadium. No travel days. Just pure, unadulterated baseball for three days straight.
• Division Series (LDS): This is the best-of-five round. It usually gets going a few days after the Wild Card winners are decided.
• League Championship Series (LCS): The best-of-seven grind to see who goes to the Big Dance.
• The World Series: Game 1 is scheduled for October 23, 2026. If we get lucky enough to see a Game 7, that will go down on Halloween, October 31. Imagine winning a ring while kids are out trick-or-treating.

How the Seeding Actually Works Now

A lot of people still get tripped up by the "new" format, even though we've been doing it this way for a few years. It’s not just the three division winners anymore. We have 12 teams total—six from the American League and six from the National League.

The top two division winners in each league are the lucky ones. They get a first-round bye. They get to sit on their couches, heal up their bruises, and watch the chaos from afar while waiting for the Division Series to start.

The third division winner? They don't get a bye. They have to play in the Wild Card round against the lowest-seeded Wild Card team. It feels a bit harsh to win your division and still have to play a "win-or-go-home" series immediately, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles in the current era.

The Bracket Breakdown

In each league, the seeds are essentially locked in like this:

1. Seed 1: Best record in the league (Division Winner).
2. Seed 2: Second-best record among Division Winners.
3. Seed 3: Third-best record among Division Winners.
4. Seed 4: Top Wild Card team (best record of non-division winners).
5. Seed 5: Second Wild Card team.
6. Seed 6: Third Wild Card team.

During that opening Tuesday on September 29, you'll see the No. 3 seed hosting the No. 6 seed, and the No. 4 seed hosting the No. 5 seed.

Why 2026 Feels a Little Different

This year has a weird rhythm to it. Because the World Cup is happening in North America this summer, some schedules were shuffled around early on. Plus, we had the World Baseball Classic (WBC) back in March. By the time we get to the playoffs in September, these players are going to be gassed.

The physical toll of a 162-game season followed by a high-stakes October can't be overstated. We've seen it time and again—the hottest team in September often beats the "best" team in October. You’ve seen the 2023 Diamondbacks or the 2024 underdog stories. Pitching depth is everything. If a team burns their ace just to get through the Wild Card round, they’re often walking into the Division Series with a disadvantage against a rested No. 1 seed.

Watching the Games

If you’re trying to catch the action, the broadcast rights are spread out. In 2026, you'll find the Wild Card rounds across a mix of platforms, including ESPN and, notably, NBC and Peacock, who have stepped up their baseball coverage significantly this year. FOX typically handles the World Series, which is a tradition as old as time (or at least as old as most of us can remember).

One thing to keep an eye on is the "ghost runner" rule. During the regular season, we have that runner on second base in extra innings to speed things up. Forget about that for the playoffs. In October, we play "real" baseball. If a game goes 15 innings, it goes 15 innings. No freebies. It’s grueling, but it makes for legendary television.

Key Dates to Remember

1. September 27: Regular season ends.
2. September 29: Wild Card Series begins.
3. October 23: World Series Game 1.
4. October 31: Potential World Series Game 7.

Actionable Steps for Fans

If you're planning on attending a game or just want to be prepared, here’s what you should do right now:

• Check the Tiebreaker Rules: Remember, there are no "Game 163" tiebreakers anymore. If two teams have the same record on September 27, it goes to head-to-head records. Check your team's season series against their rivals now so you aren't surprised by the seeding.
• Verify Your Streaming Subs: With NBC and Peacock in the mix for the early rounds, make sure your logins work before the first pitch on September 29.
• Watch the Rotation: Keep an eye on how teams use their best pitchers in the final week of September. A team fighting for a Wild Card spot might have to use their ace on the last day of the season, which would leave them vulnerable for the start of the playoffs.
• Book Travel Early: If you’re a die-hard planning to travel for the World Series, remember that Game 1 is in the city of the team with the better record. You won't know where that is until the LCS ends, but you can look at the overall standings now to see who is likely to have home-field advantage.