how many wild card teams in mlb playoffs

There are 6 Wild Card teams in the MLB playoffs under the current format.

Quick Scoop: Wild Card Spots

Today’s MLB playoff format (in place since the 2022 season) uses a 12‑team bracket.

Each league (American League and National League) sends 6 teams: 3 division winners and 3 Wild Card teams.

So:

• 3 Wild Card teams in the American League.

• 3 Wild Card teams in the National League.

That gives you 6 Wild Card teams in total across MLB every postseason.

At the same time, these Wild Card clubs play in the “Wild Card Series” round (best‑of‑three), which replaced the old single-elimination Wild Card Game beginning with the 2022 expanded format.

Mini breakdown of the format

• 12 total playoff teams league‑wide.

• 6 per league:
  • 3 division winners (seeded 1–3).

* 3 Wild Card teams (seeded 4–6).

• The top two division winners in each league get byes; the third division winner faces the lowest Wild Card, and the other two Wild Cards play each other in the opening round.

In short: if you’re counting strictly “Wild Card teams,” it’s three per league, six total in MLB’s current playoff system.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.