See the moment an MLB superstar showed up to play Wiffleball in the backyard
Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez stops to join a group of children playing a backyard game of Wiffleball in Kansas City, Kansas.
USA Today
With no more than seven games separating the top five teams in each league, the composition of the playoffs in Major League Baseball remains uncertain as the regular season draws to a close.
While a handful of division leaders have comfortable leads – or are counting down smaller and smaller magic numbers to secure victory – the wildcard spots and overall rankings are still up for grabs.
This is what the playoff participants of the American and national leagues would look like if the postseason started today:
(Updated by games played on September 17)
American League
Top seeds
No. 1 New York Yankees (88-63) – Bye to the AL Division Series, against the winner of the Royals-Orioles
No. 2 Cleveland Guardians (87-65) – Bye to the AL Division Series against the winner of the Twins-Astros
AL Wildcard Series
No. 6 Minnesota Twins (80-71) at No. 3 Houston Astros (82-69)
No. 5 Kansas City Royals (82-70) at No. 4 Baltimore Orioles (84-67)
Bundesliga
Top seeds
No. 1 Philadelphia Phillies (91-60), bye to the NL Division Series against the winner of the Padres-Mets
No. 2 Los Angeles Dodgers (89-62), bye to the NL Division Series, against the winner of the Diamondbacks-Brewers
NL Wildcard Series
No. 6 Arizona Diamondbacks (83-68) at No. 3 Milwaukee Brewers (87-64)
No. 5 New York Mets (83-68) at No. 4 San Diego Padres (86-66)
Mets hold tiebreaker against Diamondbacks
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