The top 11 things at stake in the final week

The final week of the regular season has arrived, and there is plenty at stake.

From a team perspective, there is still a battle for the final Wild Card spots in both leagues and the top teams trying to secure a first-round bye and home-field advantage. As enticing as these playoff races are, you can argue that the individual storylines are just as interesting. Look no further than what Shohei Ohtani pulled off last week.

With this in mind, here’s what’s at stake during the final week of the season.

• Postseason Watch: Bracket, tiebreakers and more

1. The NL West battle

With no disrespect to the rest of the NL West, the Dodgers were the overwhelming favorite to win the division entering the year. Yet the Dodgers only hold a three-game lead over the Padres after the two teams split the first two games of their three-game series at Dodger Stadium. Here's how this race breaks down:

• Breaking down the potential playoff standings chaos

Record
- Dodgers 94-64
- Padres 91-67 (3 GB)

Remaining schedule
- Dodgers vs. SD (1), at COL (3)
- Padres at LAD (1), at AZ (3)

Tiebreaker
Padres clinched (up 8-4 in season series). If the teams finish with the same record, San Diego will win the division title.

Scenarios
- The Dodgers can clinch the NL West with a win in Thursday's series finale at Dodger Stadium.
- If the Padres win on Thursday, the Dodgers still could clinch as soon as Friday, with a win and a Padres loss. If San Diego wins out, it still would need at least two Los Angeles losses to Colorado to come out on top.

2. The (Wild) Wild Card Races

While the Wild Card races in both leagues are poised to come down to the wire, the American League race has the potential to be especially chaotic in the final week, with four teams in the mix for the final two spots.

Shockingly, that includes the Tigers, who sold at the Trade Deadline and were 55-63 at the end of play on Aug. 10 but have been one of the best teams in baseball over the past six weeks. Detroit has a chance to make history -- according to STATS, the only team to make the postseason after falling eight or more games under .500 in August or later was the 1973 Mets.

Here is a closer look at how each race breaks down:

AL Wild Card (4 teams for 2 spots)

Record
- Royals 84-74
- Tigers 84-74
- Twins 82-76 (2 GB)
- Mariners 82-77 (2.5 GB)

Remaining schedule
- Royals at WSH (1), at ATL (3)
- Tigers vs. TB (1), vs. CWS (3)
- Twins vs. MIA (1), vs. BAL (3)
- Mariners vs. OAK (3)

Tiebreakers
- The Royals own tiebreakers over the Mariners and Tigers.
- The Twins own tiebreakers over the Mariners, Royals and Tigers.
- The Tigers own a tiebreaker over the Mariners.

NL Wild Card (3 teams for 2 spots)

Record
- Mets 87-70
- D-backs 88-71
- Braves 86-71 (1 GB)

Remaining schedule
- Mets at MIL (3), at ATL (2)^
- D-backs vs. SD (3)
- Braves vs. KC (3), vs. NYM (2)^

^The final two Mets-Braves games in Atlanta, originally scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, were rained out. They are now set to be played in a doubleheader on Monday.

Tiebreakers
- The Braves and Mets both own tiebreakers over the D-backs.
- The Braves lead their season series against the Mets, 6-5. If Atlanta wins at least one half of Monday's doubleheader, it will clinch the tiebreaker between the teams.

3. The top playoff seeds

Entering September, three teams were vying for the top two spots in each league. With the Orioles and Brewers scuffling in September, however, the top spots have come down to two teams in each league -- it’s just a matter of who takes the No. 1 overall spot to secure homefield advantage through the Championship Series and potentially the World Series.

The Dodgers enter play Thursday with a half-game lead over the Phillies, although Philadelphia holds the tiebreaker advantage based on head-to-head record. The Yankees, meanwhile, have a half-game lead over the Guardians and the tiebreaker advantage after going 4-2 against Cleveland.

4. Home-field advantage in the Wild Card Series

Despite Baltimore’s struggles this month, the Orioles are firmly in control of the top AL Wild Card spot. The Padres have embarked on an incredible run that’s placed them in competition for the NL West and well ahead for the first Wild Card spot -- they're 3 1/2 games ahead of the Mets and D-backs for that top spot. Both the Orioles and Padres clinched playoff berths Tuesday on the road against their division rivals.

5. Ohtani pushing the HR-SB bar even higher

Nothing about Ohtani is ordinary. After joining the 40-40 club on a walk-off grand slam last month, Ohtani became the first member of the 50-50 club last week in dramatic fashion. Needing a pair of home runs and a stolen base to reach 50-50, Ohtani proceeded to go 6-for-6 with three home runs, two stolen bases and 10 RBIs in what was certainly one of the best individual performances of all time.

With a week to go, Ohtani has a chance to continue his otherworldly season and push the limits of what was perceived as possible, potentially even catching Aaron Judge (57) for the home run lead.

With 53 homers and 56 steals, Ohtani is a lock to finish among MLB's top two in both categories, something that hasn't been done in more than a century. Before 2024, the only players to finish among MLB's top two in home runs and stolen bases were Honus Wagner in 1908 and Ty Cobb in 1909. (But don't let Ohtani's brilliance completely overshadow the fact that Cleveland's José Ramírez is also a candidate, with 38 homers and 40 steals of his own.)

In case you forgot, Ohtani is also a world-class pitcher recovering from elbow surgery and might even be an option to pitch this year in the playoffs.

6. Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal approach Triple Crown history

Sale and Skubal are very likely to take home Cy Young Award honors in their respective leagues. There’s also a strong chance that Sale and Skubal become the fourth pair of pitchers to win the pitching Triple Crown -- the league leader in ERA, strikeouts and wins -- in each league.

If Sale (2.38 ERA, 225 strikeouts and 18 wins) and Skubal (2.39 ERA, 228 strikeouts and 18 wins) lead their leagues in those categories, they’d join Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander (2011), Walter Johnson and Dazzy Vance (1924) and Johnson and Hippo Vaughn (1918) as the only pairs of pitchers to win the Triple Crown in the same season.

Sale also has a chance to become the first pitcher since Johan Santana in 2006 to lead MLB in all three categories in a full season. (Shane Bieber did it in the shortened 2020 campaign.)

7. Judge also making Triple Crown bid

MLB hasn’t seen a batting Triple Crown winner -- leading the league in homers, RBIs and batting average -- since Miguel Cabrera in 2012, but Judge has an outside shot to do it.

The Yankees slugger enters Thursday leading the AL (and MLB) in homers (57) and RBIs (142) with the third-best batting average (.324).

It's going to be tough for Judge to catch Bobby Witt Jr. (.333 average) in the race for the AL batting title -- he also needs to leapfrog Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is hitting .325 -- but it's not outside the realm of possibility.

8. Saves and ERA history for Clase

Emmanuel Clase had already established himself as one of the top relievers in the sport, but what he’s doing this year is nearly unprecedented. Clase has a microscopic 0.62 ERA across 73 1/3 innings and 73 appearances, putting him on track to do something four pitchers have done. If Clase’s ERA sticks, he’d become the fourth pitcher with an ERA of 0.75 or lower in 50 or more innings, joining Zack Britton (2016), Fernando Rodney (2012), Dennis Eckersley (1990) and Rob Murphy (1986).

That’s not the only exclusive company that Clase could join. After leading the Majors in saves in 2022 (42) and ‘23 (44), Clase (47 saves) is only one behind Ryan Helsley for the MLB lead this year. If Clase can pull ahead, he’ll become the first pitcher to lead the Majors in saves in three straight seasons since the stat became official in 1969.

9. The 2024 White Sox vs. the 1962 Mets

The White Sox are on the verge of some unfortunate history. Chicago lost its 120th game on Sunday, tying the 1962 Mets for the most single-season losses in the Modern Era.

To avoid setting a new record with 121 losses or more, the White Sox must win their final four games of the season against the Angels and Tigers, something Chicago has done just once this year. Barring a miracle, the White Sox will stand alone for the most losses in a single season dating back to 1900.

10. Can Ohtani or Judge reach 400 total bases?

Ohtani is on pace to make even more history, believe it or not. Along with his 50-50 season, Ohtani has a real shot at reaching 400 total bases on the season – something that hasn't happened since Sammy Sosa (425), Luis Gonzalez (419), Barry Bonds (411) and Todd Helton (402) each accomplished the feat in 2001.

Entering play Thursday, Ohtani leads all players with 396 total bases and is on pace to finish with 406. His surge to the top of the total bases leaderboard was fueled in no small part by his historic 6-for-6 day against the Marlins on Sept. 19. It got another boost on Sunday, when Ohtani collected four hits, including a game-tying home run in the ninth inning.

Judge was on pace for 400 total bases for much of the season but has trailed off in recent weeks and is less likely to reach the milestone at this point. After Wednesday's game, Judge has 388 total bases and is on pace for 397. It'll take one of Judge's classic heaters to get him there, but we've seen enough from him to know that a sudden power surge could happen at any time. Should Judge get there, it would be the first season of 400 total bases in the AL since Jim Rice in 1978.

It takes a really special season to reach 400 total bases, which is why it's only happened eight times since 1960. It requires a strong mix of high average and exceptional extra-base-hit ability. But even then, there are no guarantees. Even a few mini-slumps over the course of 162 games can sink a hitter's chances.

But if both Ohtani and Judge have big final weeks, 400 total bases are in reach for both of them -- which would be the perfect conclusion to their already rock-solid MVP cases.

11. Luis Arraez’s chase of a batting title with a third team, which has never happened before.

Arraez has already made history by becoming the first player to win American League and National League batting titles in consecutive seasons. But the Padres star now has the chance to do something even more stunning. Leading the NL in batting at .314 in 2024, four points ahead of the Braves’ Marcell Ozuna, Arraez has an excellent shot at winning his third batting title in three years -- all with different teams!

That’s never happened before, as Arraez is just the eighth player to even win batting titles with two teams. Trades sending him from the Twins to the Marlins to the Padres have given him the chance for a third straight batting crown with another club, and Arraez has made the most of his opportunity. The 2022 AL and 2023 NL batting champion didn’t hit .400 well into May like he did last year with Miami, but Arraez has been consistently productive at the plate (and quite hard to strike out, too). Barring a late charge from Ozuna, more history awaits Arraez and San Diego later this week.