Although the regular season for this year’s MLB season has come to an end, the race for a playoff spot is in full force for all teams across the league. Whether you are the Philadelphia Phillies or the Milwaukee Brewers, who have a playoff spot on lockdown, or the New York Mets or the Houston Astros, hanging on to a wild card spot for dear life, trying to continue their team’s season and have a shot at winning the World Series.

Outside of the Wild Card in both conferences, there are still about four teams who have a realistic shot to sneak in a spot in the playoff picture. First off, you have the Cleveland Guardians and Houston Astros, who are tied for a place in the AL. And the same situation is present in the NL, as the Cincinnati Reds are tied with the New York Mets for a shot to continue their season. And the Arizona Diamondbacks are the final team who has a shot to make the playoffs, as they are one spot behind the Mets.

“The Diamondbacks — a team that lost its top starting pitcher and several of its top relievers to season-ending injuries, a team that sold five veterans off its roster at the trade deadline — are 1 game out of a playoff spot with six games remaining in their season.” Nick Piecoro,  a writer for the Arizona Republic, said.

Arizona, which has had a roller coaster of a season, has won 79 games and lost just 76. The main reason for this rocky season is the number of injuries that have piled up. Arizona has lost eight of its pitchers in just this year alone. They round out their season with two more series, against the Dodgers and the Padres. They will need to have significant focus on this last week, as Sports Illustrated gives them less than a 10% chance to extend their season to October. 

Now in the AL, the other team who are one spot away for a shot at the championship is the Cleveland Guardians. Being in a much more competitive conference, they have a record of 84-72, who have won nine out of their last ten, they have stormed back into the picture and now has Cleveland tied for the final spot of the AL Wild Card with the Houston Astros.

“I don’t know to be honest, they aren’t excellent right now but they are doing decent in their division. It is really close right now, but if they focus up, I think they can get a playoff spot this year.” Max Everest ‘27 said.

While there are still a few spots up for grabs, regardless of who you are a fan of, every fan is pumped to see who will make it in the race for October.