The Division Series was permanently created after the 1993 season when Major League Baseball restructured each league into three divisions, but their first regular playing was in 1995 due to the cancellation of the 1994 playoffs. During the 1981 season a mid-season strike by the Major League Baseball Players Association forced a divisional playoff series which is included in the playoff history also.

Did you know that 65,464 fans watched the Division Series game played on October 4, 2003 - the most of any single game in Major League history? Did you know the smallest crowd at a Division Series was 31,953 and that game was played on October 2, 2002?

Since 1998 the wild-card team has been assigned to play the division winner with the best winning percentage in one series, and the other two division winners meet in the other series. However, if the wild-card team and the division winner with the best record are from the same division, the wild-card team plays the division winner with the second-best record, and the remaining two division leaders play. Do you like the playoff format? Do you dislike it? Share your opinion with us on Baseball Fever.