<Li> Wild - card teams are penalized . In the four - team format from 1994 to 2011, the wild - card team had to win just as many postseason games as a division winner in order to reach the World Series . Now the winner of the wild - card game is at a disadvantage because it has to play an extra game . </Li> <Li> Increases postseason interest and revenue, with the tension of a sudden - death match at the start of the playoffs, similar to tie - breaker games held to resolve regular season ties . Recent examples of this were seen in tie - breaking games in 2007, 2008, and 2009, as well as the final day of the 2011 regular season . </Li> <Li> With an additional playoff spot at stake, more teams are competing at the end of the regular season for a place in the playoffs . </Li> <P> With the adoption of MLB's new collective bargaining agreement in November 2011, baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced that a new playoff system would begin within the next two years; the change was ultimately put into place in 2012 . </P>

Who is playing in the wild card games