Elimination from possibility of reaching postseason

Elimination from possibility of reaching postseason refers to when the record of a team in a sports league has fallen so low that it is mathematically impossible for the team to qualify for the postseason, even if they win all their remaining games. This occurs when the number of wins paired with losses of higher ranking teams in the league or division needed in order to reach first place in the division or a wild card spot (where applicable) exceeds the remaining number of games to be played. However, in some small sports leagues, all teams participate in the playoffs and no teams are eliminated during the regular season.

When a sports season is reaching its conclusion, ranking watchers, such as the media, keep track of which teams have clinched divisions and playoff berths, and what teams close to this point must accomplish in order to achieve this ahead of the season's conclusion. At the same time, the poorer performing teams face the prospect of elimination before and sometimes long before the season is over.

The term "elimination" when used in this sense differs from elimination when used in the postseason. In the postseason, a team is said to be "eliminated" when it is defeated by another team it is playing in a round of the postseason, thereby ending the team's season. But a team eliminated during the regular season continues to play the remaining games on its schedule. There may still be some value to the team in playing these games.

While a team that has been officially eliminated must still play its remaining games, the team's behavior may differ from one that is striving for the postseason or has already clinched the playoffs. This may include:

• Since the team does not need to worry about winning to qualify for the postseason, the urgency to win may be lower. As a result:
  • This may allow the team to give play time to backup and other lesser players who would not be used when a win is urgent, thereby giving them some real life experience in an attempt to develop them
  • The team may take greater risks during the remaining games in order for players to master new skills
• Many eliminated teams still try hard to win in order. Reasons for this include:
  • Achieving an improvement over the previous year's record
  • The team, though it may not enter the postseason, may still be trying to finish the season with a winning record
  • The team may wish to avoid the stigma of a last place finish
  • Individual players as well as the coaches often try hard in order to achieve certain statistics they are trying to reach, or to maintain their jobs. Even poor-performing teams usually have well-performing players.
• In some cases, a team with a severely losing record may attempt to achieve the worst record in the league in order to attain a high draft pick.
• If the team is planning on making changes to its roster or coaching staff as a result of the poor performance, it may do so during this time in order to give new players and coaches some experience and have dibs on those who may be sought by other teams^[1]

Impact of eliminated teams

Teams eliminated from playoffs can have an impact on other teams in the league as they play.

For example, on the final day of the 2011 Major League Baseball regular season, the long eliminated Baltimore Orioles defeated the Boston Red Sox, who had been seen all season as contenders for the playoffs. This Red Sox loss knocked them out of the playoffs in favor of the Tampa Bay Rays.^[2]

See also

• Garbage time
• Sports league ranking
• Magic number (sports)
• Playoff berth

References