Fit To Be Tied – And That Would Be Good

From the Boston Globe -

TIEBREAKERS

Red Sox and Indians tie: Red Sox win because of 5-2 edge in season series.

Red Sox and Angels tie: Red Sox win because of 6-4 edge in season series.

Yankees and Indians tie: Yankees win because of 6-0 edge in season series.

Yankees and Angels tie: Angels win because of 6-3 edge in season series.

Indians and Angels tie: The season series was even at 5-5, so Indians win by virtue of better divisional record (46-23 vs. Central, while Angels are 30-21 vs. the West).

Red Sox, Indians, and Angels all tie: Red Sox are No. 1 seed because they have combined 11-6 record vs. the other two clubs (Angels 9-11, Indians 7-10); Indians get No. 2 seed because their tie with Angels reverts back to two-team tiebreaker.

Yankees, Indians, and Angels all tie: Yankees are No. 1 seed because they have combined 9-6 record vs. the other two clubs (Angels 11-8, Indians 5-11); Indians get No. 2 seed because their tie with Angels reverts back to two-team tiebreaker.

So, if I’m reading this correct, if the Yanks, Bosox, Indians, and Angels all finish with the same record, then the Yankees would have homefield advantage for entire post-season.

Yanks break the tie over the Sox. And, as per the above, because New York has a combined 9-6 record vs. the other two clubs (Angels 11-8, Indians 5-11); Indians get No. 2 seed because their tie with Angels reverts back to two-team tiebreaker. Plus, the AL gets homefield in the World Series because of the All-Star Game results.

So, as Yankees fans, you want to see a four-way tie at the end of the season here. Here’s how the four teams sit now in terms of wins and losses:

Indians	92	63
Red Sox	92	64
Angels	92	65
Yankees	90	66

If I had to guess, I would offer that the Yankees are going to have to go 5-1 in their remaining games to pull off a tie here – with any of these teams. But, it’s not impossible.