MLB playoffs extra-inning rules explained

The extra-innings rule that places a runner on second at the start of every half-inning will once again not be in play during this MLB postseason.

If extra innings are played during this year’s MLB postseason, there won’t be a designated runner on second base to start the half-inning. This rule was initiated to help speed up the games last season, in an attempt to make the games safer for players in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

That rule carried over into this regular season but just like last year, won’t spill into the postseason, according to ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan.

Teams will play extra-innings as they always have and will maintain the two instant-replay challenges during the playoff games.

What was the longest game this season with the extra-innings rule applied?

This season’s longest game came from the Dodgers and Padres on Aug. 26 when they played 16 innings for nearly five-and-a-half hours. They played the additional seven innings with the extra-innings rule initiated.

What is the longest MLB postseason game ever?

Prior to the rule, in 2018, the Dodgers were in another ‘longest game:’ after 18 innings, they beat the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the World Series to tie for the longest postseason game ever. The nearly seven-and-a-half hours it took for the game to conclude made it the lengthiest played game in terms of time in MLB postseason history.

MLB extra innings playoffs

There are mixed reactions to the announcement that the extra-inning rule once again won’t follow into the postseason with some fans being confused as to why it has remained in the regular season:

Overall, the rule has been accepted well, as fans would rather the playoffs stay relatively pure.