It is mid-January 2026, and if you walk into any sports bar in Chicago or San Diego right now, people are still arguing about what happened three months ago. Baseball is funny like that. The stove is hot, free agents are signing massive deals, and yet we can't stop looking back at those final national league baseball wild card standings from the 2025 season.
It was a total mess, honestly.
For the better part of September, it felt like nobody actually wanted those final playoff spots. You had teams like the Mets and Diamondbacks basically tripping over their own shoelaces in the final week, while the Cincinnati Reds—a team most people had written off by June—somehow snuck into the dance.
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The final 2025 NL wild card breakdown
The dust has settled, but the numbers are still wild to look at. The Chicago Cubs ended up leading the pack with a 92-70 record. They were safe for a while, but that battle for the second and third spots? Pure chaos.
San Diego grabbed the second slot at 90-72. They were the team nobody wanted to face, mostly because their pitching staff decided to become unhittable right around Labor Day. But the real story was that third spot. The Cincinnati Reds finished at 83-79, just barely edging out the New York Mets, who finished with the exact same record but lost the tiebreaker.
Can you imagine being a Mets fan? You play 162 games only to miss out because of a head-to-head record from a series back in May. That’s baseball. It's cruel.
How the seeds shook out
- WC 1: Chicago Cubs (92-70) - They had a 9-game cushion over the cut line.
- WC 2: San Diego Padres (90-72) - Finished 7-3 in their last 10.
- WC 3: Cincinnati Reds (83-79) - Won the tiebreaker over New York.
The Arizona Diamondbacks (80-82) and San Francisco Giants (81-81) were right there until about the last four days of the season. Arizona, specifically, had a collapse that will be studied by sports psychologists for years. They went 3-7 in their final 10 games. You just can’t do that when the Reds are playing inspired ball behind Elly De La Cruz.
Why the national league baseball wild card standings felt different this time
Usually, there's a clear "best" team among the wild cards. This year? Not so much. The Cubs were solid, sure, but they weren't terrifying.
The drama was mostly about the parity. In the old days, an 83-win team wouldn't even be mentioned in a playoff conversation. Now, with the three-wild-card format, mediocrity is rewarded with a ticket to the postseason. Some fans hate it. They say it cheapens the regular season.
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Personally? I love the stress.
Watching the scoreboard in September when five different teams are within two games of each other is peak entertainment. The national league baseball wild card standings became the main character of the MLB for the last three weeks of the year.
The Tiebreaker Heartbreak
The Mets and Reds finishing 83-79 is the perfect example of why every game matters. If the Mets had won just one more game against a bottom-dweller like the Rockies (who lost 119 games, by the way), they’re in. Instead, they spent October on the couch.
Looking ahead to the 2026 season
We are currently in the "projected standings" phase of the 2026 cycle. If you look at the early numbers from FanGraphs or the Vegas odds, the National League is expected to be even more top-heavy this year.
The Dodgers are always going to be the Dodgers. They won 93 games last year and then cruised to another World Series title, proving that sometimes the best team actually does win. But for the rest of the NL, the wild card is the only realistic path.
Teams to watch for the 2026 Wild Card
- Atlanta Braves: They had a "down" year in 2025, winning only 76 games. That won't happen again. Expect them to be firmly in the wild card hunt, if not leading the East.
- New York Mets: Steve Cohen isn't going to let an 83-win season stand. They’ve already been aggressive in the trade market this January.
- Arizona Diamondbacks: They need to prove that 2025 was a fluke and they can handle the pressure of a pennant race.
What actually happens in the Wild Card Round?
It's a best-of-three series. All games are played at the higher seed's home park. This is a massive advantage.
In 2025, the Cubs hosted the Padres and won that series 2-1. It was a dogfight. Meanwhile, the Dodgers (who were the lowest-seeded division winner and had to play in the WC round) swept the Reds 2-0.
The Reds just didn't have the pitching depth to keep up with LA in a short series. That’s the danger of the third wild card spot; you usually burn your best starter just to get in, leaving you vulnerable in Game 1.
Actionable insights for the 2026 season
If you're tracking the national league baseball wild card standings this coming year, keep these things in mind to stay ahead of the curve.
- Watch the head-to-head records early. Since there are no more Game 163 tiebreakers, the season series is the law. A random Tuesday win in April could be the reason a team makes the playoffs in September.
- Focus on the "Loss" column. Games behind (GB) can be deceptive if teams haven't played the same number of games due to rainouts. The team with fewer losses is always in the driver's seat.
- Monitor bullpen usage in September. Wild Card races are won by the teams that don't blow leads in the 8th inning.
The 2025 season showed us that you don't have to be perfect; you just have to be better than the guy next to you. As we approach Spring Training for 2026, the race starts all over again. Every team is 0-0, and every fan thinks this is their year to grab one of those elusive wild card spots.
Keep an eye on the schedule strength in the final month. The teams with 10+ games against rebuilding squads usually find a way to pad their win totals and secure their place in the standings.