Major League Baseball, like many sports, has done plenty of tinkering with its rules in recent years.
One of the most prominent changes — and most controversial — has been the runner on second rule to start extra innings. Instead of playing the innings as normal, teams started off with a runner in scoring position as soon as the 10th inning rolled around. In 2020, the NL shared in the designated hitter with the American League before adopting it full-time in 2022.
However, postseason baseball tends to be a lot different than the regular season. Are these rules still in play for the postseason? The Sporting News takes a look.
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Does the MLB extra-inning rule apply in the playoffs?
Don’t worry, baseball purists. This is one rule that doesn’t carry over from the regular season.
The regular season rule that places a runner on second base during the start of extra innings is not part of the postseason, meaning the 10th inning onward starts with empty basepaths.
The rule was initially put in place in 2020 during the pandemic-shortened season, and it made an immediate impact on the game. In 2019, 416 runs were scored in the 10th inning, 234 were scored in the 11th and 118 were scored in the 12th for averages of 0.48, 0.49 and 0.48 runs per inning, respectively, according to Stathead.
In 2020, 1.12 runs were scored in 10th innings and 0.92 runs were scored in 11th innings. In 2021, 432 runs were scored in 10th innings (1.08 per inning), 124 runs were scored in 11th innings (1.27 per inning) and 32 were scored in the 12th (1.92 per inning).
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Are there ‘ghost runners’ in the MLB playoffs?
No, there are not “ghost runners,” or automatic runners placed on second base, for extra innings in the MLB postseason.
While the regular season rules place a runner on second in every extra-inning frame, the postseason reverts back to traditional extra-innings with the bases empty.
MORE: How many games are in MLB’s Wild Card series?
Is there a pitch clock in the MLB playoffs?
The pitch clock does carry over from the regular season. Batters have to be in the box and ready for the pitch by the eight-second mark, while pitchers have to deliver a strike before the timer ticks all the way down.
Between batters, there are 30 seconds allotted between pitches. During a single at-bat, that pitch clock is down to 18 seconds with runners on base and 15 seconds with no one on base.
Pitchers can disengage from the mound only twice, including pickoff attempts and step-offs. Batters can step out of the box and call time once per at-bat. Mound visits do not count as disengagements for pitchers.
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How is home field decided for MLB playoff series?
In the MLB playoffs, until the World Series, home field is based on seeding. The higher seed in the AL or NL bracket hosts the entire Wild Card series, or the beginning and the end of a division series or championship series. The division series follows a 2-2-1 format for traveling, while the championship series is a 2-3-2 format.
The World Series, however, is slightly different. There, the seeds are dropped and home field advantage is based purely on the team with more regular-season wins. If the teams had identical regular-season records, then the tiebreaker goes to head-to-head record, then intradivision record, then interdivision record.
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