A Major League Baseball team participates in 162 regular season contests each year. This established number provides a consistent framework for competition across all teams within both the National and American Leagues. The schedule is meticulously crafted to balance home and away games, divisional rivalries, and interleague play.
This fixed-game structure is fundamental to determining playoff eligibility and ultimately, the World Series champion. It allows for statistical comparisons across eras and provides a basis for understanding a team’s overall performance throughout the season. The length of the season provides ample opportunity for teams to recover from slumps and allows for skill and consistency to be key determinants of success, rather than pure luck.