How does the baseball regular season work?

charan b: How does the baseball regular season work?
I’m from the uk and got interested in baseball a couple of months ago. I was wandering how many games does one team play against another? Are there games between divisions? Are there games between the 2 leagues? I’ve searched everywhere for the format of the season and i know each team play 162 games, i just don’t understand what up that number. Thanks in advance.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Jordan
There are different length series 3, 5, and 7 games
there are games against different divisions
there are games against different leagues but not as common

hope that helps

Answer by Japip
Druing the season teams will verse one an another (obviosly), but they do not verse everyone. They will verse everyone in their league, but not everyone in the opposite league. During the month of July therre is interleague play where the AL verses the NL. They verse teams in their own division the most. Also, there are series of games. When one team verses another they have a series of 3 or 4 games, and sometimes 2 (very rare). The team with the best record from each division goes to the playoffs and all the rest are out except for the team with the next best record out of all the remaining reams who did not win their division. That is called the wild card team. Then they play the ALDS or ALDS, which is a best of 5 series. First to win 3 moves on, then the ALCS or NLCS which is best of 7 series, first to win 4 advances. Then it is the World Series and the winner takes home the trophy.

Answer by baller982
There are two conferences: American League(AL) and National League(NL). There are three divisions in each: AL East, AL Central, AL West, and NL East, NL Central, NL West. There are 5 teams in each division, except the AL West has 4 teams and the NL Central has 6 teams.

In the regular season there are series played against each other that contain 2-5 games against the same opponent in consecutive days(3 game series are the most common).

Most of a team’s 162 games will be played within their own division, but they will always play every team in their own conference twice. In 1997, interleague play started. This happens during the month of June where a few series will be played against teams in the opposite conference.

After 162 games, 4 teams from each conference make the playoffs: the best record of each division and the next best record in the conference. There are three rounds in the playoffs: the divisional round(1st round), the conference championship(2nd round), and the World Series(3rd round).

Answer by bo37rn
Yes, each team plays 162 games. There are 30 Major League baseball teams. 16 are in the National League and 14 are in the American League. The difference between the National and American Leagues is the use of the Designated Hitter (DH). The American League uses a DH to bat in place of the pitcher while in the National League the pitcher has to bat for himself. Personally I like the National League version better. Makes strategy come into play on whether to let you pitcher bat or take him out for a pinch hitter. Major League pitchers usually are not very good hitters as they spend most of their time becoming better pitchers and they don’t play every day, hence less opportunity to hone their craft as a hitter.
Each League is split into three divisions, East, West, and Central. Overall record is what determines the division winners. Division winners make the playoffs as well as one “wild card” team from each league (National and American). A wild card team is the “best of the rest” from an overall record perspective.
Yes there are regular season games between the leagues called “interleague” games although there are not very many. Most games are played within the respective leagues. Division games are very important because they afford you the greatest opportunity to make up ground or extend leads within your division however all games are important since overall record determines division winners, playoff spots, and playoff seedings.
Interesting thing about interleague games is that where the game is played determines whether the DH can be used. If played in an American League home park such as Yankee Stadium both teams can, and will use a DH. If played in a National League home park such as Atlanta the DH cannot be used. The pitcher must bat when his spot comes up. If someone else bats for him as a pinch hitter, then the pitcher must leave the game and cannot return.
As to why there is 162 games I am sure that is for money. The more games there are, the more money that is made in tickets, TV, concessions, etc.

Answer by red sox
There are two leagues: American League (AL) and National League (NL)

Out of the 162 games, there are 81 games at home, and 81 games away. There is a period of time (about 2 1/2 weeks) when teams face teams from the other league. The division that you face the most in the regular season is your own. Teams face each other in series. Series last 2, 3, or 4 games in the regular season (usually 3).

There are 3 divisions in both leagues. To determine who goes to the playoffs, you take the team in each division with the best record (clinch their division), and the team that has the best record that didn’t clinch their division (wild card). 3 division clinchers + 1 wildcard team = 4 teams per league in the playoffs.

In the playoffs, here’s the bracket:

American League:

Team with best record
vs.
Team with worst record

Team with 2nd best record
vs.
Team with 2nd worst record

National League:

Team with best record
vs.
Team with worst record

Team with 2nd best record
vs.
Team with 2nd worst record

The winners face until there’s an AL and NL champion, then they face each other to get the world sereis champion