It’s a Wild Card world across the Major League Baseball landscape this season. The Philadelphia Phillies currently hold a commanding 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series over the Arizona Diamondbacks, both clubs having made the playoffs via the Wild Card route. Over in the American League Championship Series, the Texas Rangers - who made the playoffs with a Wild Card bid as well - are up 2-1 on the Houston Astros, the lone club remaining who actually won their division.
Surely you’ll recall that the Cincinnati Reds finished just 2 games behind the Diamondbacks for the final Wild Card spot in the NL in 2023, falling all the way from 1st place in the NL Central on August 2nd to eliminated by the season’s penultimate game.