MLB Pennant Race 2026: A Tale of Two Leagues

All I've heard for years is how long baseball season is, and it is. It's not just the game length--162 games. It's also the length of time. The MLB regular season is about six months long, with recent years seeing the season start in the tail end of March and ending in either the end of September or the beginning of October. Strangely, while the overall baseball season is long, it's still shorter than hockey and basketball. That's because hockey and basketball's postseasons last about two months, usually starting in April and seeing champions crowned in mid-June. Regarding baseball, their postseason has always been a sprint, usually lasting just a month (if that, depending on how long the World Series lasts).

This year, the Postseason begins on September 29 with four Game Ones in the Wild Card Series. Four Game Twos will happen on the following day, September 30, and any and all Game Threes will take place on October 1. The League Division Series will start on October 3 with four Game Ones, with the National League's latest date being October 9, while the American League's latest date is on October 10. The National League Championship Series will start on October 11, with a possible Game Seven on October 19. The American League Championship Series will start on October 12, with a possible Game Seven on October 20. The 122nd World Series will begin on October 23, with the earliest possible end being Game Four on October 27, putting the Postseason at four weeks even. A possible Game Seven will take place on October 31.

But that's the Postseason. We're still a few weeks away from that, and certain storylines are getting interesting:

American League East

The AL East hasn't changed; the three best records in the AL are still in that division. The Tampa Bay Rays enter with a 4.5 lead in the division over the New York Yankees, who took three games out of a makeshift four-game set against the Boston Red Sox. It was a strange series that saw the Yankees score only one run in the first two games, but went 1-1 because we won the first game 1-0, only to outscore the Red Sox 25-3 in the final two games. With the series win, the Yankees clinched the season series, 7-6, over Boston, also clinching the first tiebreaker (head-to-head) in case the two teams face off in the Wild Card Series for the second straight year.

So the way I see it, the Yankees' only focus is Tampa and winning the East. This week will see the Yankees in SoCal; a set in Anaheim followed by a weekend set in San Diego. As for the Rays, they'll host the Mets before heading to Arlington for a four-game set against the Rangers.

Wild Card Studs

The Central and West are also close; the Chicago White Sox have a 3.5 game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the Central, and as for the West, the Houston Astros still lead by two games over the Texas Rangers, with Houston sporting a 69-68 record. The Wild Card race is still cramped; below the Yankees and Red Sox are a bunch of teams with mediocre records jockeying for position. The team currently holding the WC3 spot: the Guardians. The Baltimore Orioles are a game out, the Toronto Blue Jays are a game and a half out, and the Rangers (who were in WC3 a week prior) are now two games out. The Minnesota Twins are close behind; 2.5 games behind Cleveland, while the Mariners and Tigers are continuing to sink.

Saving Grace

And then, there's the National League. Good God, it's boring. Let's get one thing straight. I don't have any bias or favoritism towards the American League, but it's just that the American League right now has all of the fun storylines and chaos, while the National League just... well... exists. All three division races are over pretty much. The smallest division lead in the NL? Five games (Braves). The largest division lead in the AL? 4.5 games (Rays). The Milwaukee Brewers, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Los Angeles Dodgers will win their divisions. The only thing going is the Wild Card race, and even that is minimal. The Cubs and Phillies are in a race for home field in their Wild Card Series, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are hanging on to the WC3 spot by half a game over the struggling San Diego Padres. The Miami Marlins have an outside chance, but below them? A bunch of nothing.

So we are down to the final four weeks of the season, and September is coming. That's going to be a loaded month, not only baseball getting intense, but football starting as well. This Yankees fan will be watching closely, hoping that we win the division and avoid the Wild Card Series, especially using the East winner will most likely be #1 in the AL. The final four weeks will be very thrilling!