National League Division Series

In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The NLDS consists of two best-of-five series, featuring the three division winners and a wild-card team. The Division Series were created after the 1993 season when Major League Baseball restructured each league into three divisions, but were first played in 1995 due to the cancellation of the 1994 playoffs. Interestingly, in 1981, due to a players' strike, a split-season format was used and a divisional series was held. In the Eastern Division, the Montreal Expos defeated the Philadelphia Phillies three games to two while the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros three games to two in the Western Division. The two teams with the best overall records, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds, failed to win their division in either half of that season.

Typically, the wild-card team plays the division leader with the best winning percentage in one series, and the other two division leaders play the other series. However, if the wild-card team and the division leader with the best record are from the same division, the wild-card team plays the next winningest division leader, and the remaining two division leaders play. In any event, the two series winners move on to the best-of-seven NLCS.

Since the NLDS's inception, the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros are the only teams to have met more than twice, with the Braves winning the series the first three times and the Astros winning next two.

There is currently no award for Division Series Most Valuable Player.

NLDS results (1994-present)

|| Cincinnati Reds || Los Angeles Dodgers || St. Louis Cardinals || San Diego Padres || Florida Marlins† || San Francisco Giants || San Diego Padres || Houston Astros || New York Mets† || Arizona Diamondbacks || New York Mets† || San Francisco Giants || Arizona Diamondbacks || St. Louis Cardinals† || San Francisco Giants† || Florida Marlins† || San Francisco Giants || Houston Astros† || Atlanta Braves || Houston Astros† || Atlanta Braves

Year	Winner	Loser	Wins	Losses
1994	Not held due to player strike.
1995	Atlanta Braves	Colorado Rockies†	3	1
	3	0
1996	Atlanta Braves	Los Angeles Dodgers†	3	0
	3	0
1997	Atlanta Braves	Houston Astros	3	0
	3	0
1998	Atlanta Braves	Chicago Cubs†	3	0
	3	1
1999	Atlanta Braves	Houston Astros	3	1
	3	1
2000	St. Louis Cardinals	Atlanta Braves	3	0
	3	1
2001	Atlanta Braves	Houston Astros	3	0
	3	2
2002	St. Louis Cardinals	Arizona Diamondbacks	3	0
	Atlanta Braves	3	2
2003	Chicago Cubs	Atlanta Braves	3	2
	3	1
2004	St. Louis Cardinals	Los Angeles Dodgers	3	1
	3	2
2005	St. Louis Cardinals	San Diego Padres	3	0
	3	1

If the 2006 Season ended today

Based on the current standings, here is how the division winners would be paired: || New York Mets || Cincinnati Reds†

Year	Visitor	Home	Wins	Losses
2006	St. Louis Cardinals	San Diego Padres	0	0
	0	0

†Denotes wild-card team.

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NLDS results (1994-present)

If the 2006 Season ended today

See also