MLB has set the schedule for the 2022 Postseason less than two months before it begins, and there are several surprises along the way.
Notably, ESPN has the entire Wild Card round (which we knew about when the new CBA was announced earlier this year), MLB Network won’t be airing any playoff games, and the World Series won’t have a game played on a Sunday, barring a rainout.
The four Wild Card series will be played over three days, with all games listed as airing on ESPN. The dates are Friday, October 7th through Sunday, October 9th, meaning there won’t be much (any?) college football on ESPN proper after College GameDay in Week 6. While times and network assignments have yet to be announced for much of the schedule, the slate features Texas A&M vs Alabama (a likely CBS game), Ohio State vs Michigan State (a likely Fox Big Noon game), BYU vs Notre Dame (NBC in primetime), and the Texas-Oklahoma Red River Rivalry (an ABC game). Any Sunday games would have to deal with an NFL schedule that features Cowboys-Rams in the late afternoon window and Bengals-Ravens on Sunday Night Football.
The Division Series airs on Fox, FS1, and TBS, with the four matchups running from Tuesday, October 11th through Monday, October 17th. Fox has the National League this year, and Turner has the American League. The NFL primetime games that Division Series games may have to deal with are Commanders-Bears (Thursday), Cowboys-Eagles (Sunday), and Broncos-Chargers (Monday), while the key college football games on Saturday are Alabama-Tennessee, Clemson-Florida State, Penn State-Michigan, and Wisconsin-Michigan State.
Heading to the LCS, those two series will also air on Fox, FS1, and TBS, running from Tuesday, October 18th through Wednesday, October 26th. The primetime NFL games over that week are Saints-Cardinals (Thursday), Steelers-Dolphins (Sunday), and Bears-Patriots (Monday). Both LCS matchups will be played that Saturday, dealing with a college football schedule that includes Iowa-Ohio State, UCLA-Oregon, and Ole Miss-LSU.
Finally, the World Series runs from Friday, October 28th (yeesh, Game 1 on a Friday? Get the “record-low” articles ready) through Saturday, November 5th. The Fall Classic misses a head to head matchup with two TNF games and a dynamite Sunday Night Football matchup (Packers-Bills), but Game 3 will go head to head with Bengals-Browns on Monday Night Football. Game 2 will have to deal with college football, though one of Ohio State-Penn State or Michigan State-Michigan will likely be a Big Noon game and Florida-Georgia already has the CBS afternoon slot. As for a possible Game 7, Alabama-LSU, Tennessee-Georgia, Florida-Texas A&M, and Baylor-Oklahoma are all on the slate with start times still not set, with Clemson-Notre Dame airing in primetime on NBC.
Here’s the full Postseason schedule, per MLB.com
WILD CARD SERIES
- Friday, Oct. 7
- NL Wild Card A, Game 1, ESPN
- NL Wild Card B, Game 1, ESPN
- AL Wild Card A, Game 1, ESPN
- AL Wild Card B, Game 1, ESPN
- Saturday, Oct. 8
- AL Wild Card A, Game 2, ESPN
- AL Wild Card B, Game 2, ESPN
- NL Wild Card A, Game 2, ESPN
- NL Wild Card B, Game 2, ESPN
- Sunday, Oct. 9
- NL Wild Card A, Game 3, ESPN (if necessary)
- NL Wild Card B, Game 3, ESPN (if necessary)
- AL Wild Card A, Game 3, ESPN (if necessary)
- AL Wild Card B, Game 3, ESPN (if necessary)
DIVISION SERIES
- Tuesday, Oct. 11
- NLDS A, Game 1, FOX or FS1
- NLDS B, Game 1, FOX or FS1
- ALDS A, Game 1, TBS
- ALDS B, Game 1, TBS
- Wednesday, Oct. 12
- NLDS A, Game 2, FOX or FS1
- NLDS B, Game 2, FOX or FS1
- Thursday, Oct. 13
- ALDS A, Game 2, TBS
- ALDS B, Game 2, TBS
- Friday, Oct. 14
- NLDS A, Game 3, FS1
- NLDS B, Game 3, FS1
- Saturday, Oct. 15
- NLDS A, Game 4, FS1 (if necessary)
- NLDS B, Game 4, FS1 (if necessary)
- ALDS A, Game 3, TBS
- ALDS B, Game 3, TBS
- Sunday, Oct. 16
- ALDS A, Game 4, TBS (if necessary)
- ALDS B, Game 4, TBS (if necessary)
- NLDS A, Game 5, FS1 (if necessary)
- NLDS B, Game 5, FS1 (if necessary)
- Monday, Oct. 17
- ALDS A, Game 5, TBS (if necessary)
- ALDS B, Game 5, TBS (if necessary)
LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
- Tuesday, Oct. 18
- NLCS Game 1, FOX or FS1
- Wednesday, Oct. 19
- NLCS Game 2, FOX or FS1
- ALCS Game 1, TBS
- Thursday, Oct. 20
- ALCS Game 2, TBS
- Friday, Oct. 21
- NLCS Game 3, FS1
- Saturday, Oct. 22
- ALCS Game 3, TBS
- NLCS Game 4, FOX or FS1
- Sunday, Oct. 23
- NLCS Game 5, FS1 (if necessary)
- ALCS Game 4, TBS
- Monday, Oct. 24
- ALCS Game 5, TBS (if necessary)
- NLCS Game 6, FS1 (if necessary)
- Tuesday, Oct. 25
- ALCS Game 6, TBS (if necessary)
- NLCS Game 7, FOX and FS1 (if necessary)
- Wednesday, Oct. 26
- ALCS Game 7, TBS (if necessary)
WORLD SERIES
- Friday, Oct. 28
- Game 1 (at better record), FOX
- Saturday, Oct. 29
- Game 2 (at better record), FOX
- Monday, Oct. 31
- Game 3, FOX
- Tuesday, Nov. 1
- Game 4, FOX
- Wednesday, Nov. 2
- Game 5, FOX (if necessary)
- Friday, Nov. 4
- Game 6, FOX (if necessary, at better record)
- Saturday, Nov. 5
- Game 7, FOX (if necessary, at better record)
The lockout over the winter impacted the regular season schedule, and it appears to have also affected the Postseason schedule as well. But in reality, no matter what MLB did regarding the Postseason schedule, the league would have to deal with football games head to head. On the bright side for baseball, the Postseason this year is likely to feature teams in some of the league’s biggest markets, including the Astros, Yankees, Mets, and Dodgers. That’s never a bad thing.
[MLB]
