Why do the White Sox & Twins have to have a one game playoff when the Twins won the season series 10-8? I read that if Tampa Bay & Boston had tied that Tampa Bay would win the tie-breaker because they won the season series 10-8. What gives?
by 
TNash55
ANSWERS: 2
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They both ended the regular season with the same won-loss record and were tied for first place in the AL Central Division. Excerpts from Major League Rule 33 and Major League Rule 34: MLB conducts a coin toss prior to the conclusion of the season. All teams who have the possibility of being the wild card (or the possibility of a tie for division winner) are included and all possible scenarios are covered. The team winning the coin toss hosts a one-game playoff to see which team advances as the wild card, or which team wins the division, if that is the case. If two teams are tied for thhe division lead, and also tied with a team from another division for the wild card, the two teams tied for the division lead will have their tie-breaker game played first. The winner of that game is the division champ, and the loser of that game plays a one game tie-breaker against the team from the other division to determine the wild card.
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The difference between the two situations is that in the case of a Rays/Red Sox tie at the top of the AL East, both teams would still qualify for the play-offs. So in this scenario, a play-off is seen as unnecessary, and head-to-head record over the season is used as a tie-breaker to settle the positions instead of a single game play-off. However in the case of the Twins/White Sox tie, only one of those teams could qualify for the postseason, so with this added level of importance on who finishes 1st a play-off is deemed to be a more satisfactory way of settling the matter than some contrived tie-breaker.
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