Who’s going to be Mr. November?
MLB released its preliminary postseason schedule on Monday, and the slate could feature a game played at the latest calendar date in World Series history.
If the Fall Classic extends to a seventh game, that contest would be played on Saturday, Nov. 5. The 2001 and 2009 World Series both ended on Nov. 4 of those respective seasons, the current record for the latest date that a game was played in a postseason.
The 2001 and 2009 seasons both featured three World Series games played on Nov. 1 or later, which is the current record. The fourth game of this year’s Series is slated for Nov. 1, so as many as four contests could be played after the end of October, the traditional month for the Fall Classic, which could be more autumnal than ever this year.
The late date for the World Series is a result of the labor dispute between the owners and players that pushed the start of the 2022 season back by a week. Originally slated to begin on March 31, the season began with a delayed Opening Day on April 7.
This postseason will feature the debut of MLB’s new 12-team playoff format. Rather than a pair of winner-take-all wild-card games, the first round will now consist of four best-of-three series, all played over three days at the home ballpark of the higher-seeded team in each matchup.
Those wild-card series will kick off with four games each on Friday, Oct. 7, and Saturday, Oct. 8. Any necessary Game 3s will be played on Sunday, Oct. 9. The entire wild-card round will be televised on ESPN platforms.
The winners of the wild-card rounds will enjoy a quick turnaround for the best-of-five League Division Series, which starts with four games on Tuesday, Oct. 11. Fox and FS1 will carry the National League games in that round, while TBS will broadcast the American League contests.
The best-of-seven League Championship Series will begin with Game 1 of the NLCS on Oct. 18, while the first game of the ALCS will take place the following day. Fox and FS1 will also carry the NL contests in that round, with TBS covering the ALCS.
The World Series will begin on Friday, Oct. 28, and Fox will televise the entire series. The series will be in the 2-3-2 format with travel days after Games 2 and 5.
ESPN Radio will provide live national coverage of all 2022 postseason games from the wild-card round through the end of the World Series.
In last season’s World Series, the Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros in six games, with Atlanta’s clinching 7-0 win falling on Nov. 2, 2021.
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