Split season

A split season is a schedule format implemented in a variety of sports leagues. The season is divided into two parts, with the winners of both halves playing each other at the end for the overall championship.

Split seasons are usually found in sports with longer seasons, such as baseball, basketball, and soccer. They are common in scholastic sports, specifically basketball, in the United States. A number of Minor League Baseball leagues also use split seasons. In Latin America, some soccer leagues use a similar format known as Apertura and Clausura.

Major League Baseball has used split seasons twice in its history.

In 1892, the National League decided to split its season in an attempt to increase interest, following the collapse of the rival American Association.

The Boston Beaneaters won the first half of the season, while the Cleveland Spiders took the second half. Boston defeated Cleveland 5 games to 0, with one tie, in the championship series.

In 1981, the Major League season was interrupted by a players' strike. Due to the two-month strike, the owners tried to create an equitable solution. So on August 6, the owners decided to split the 1981 season into two halves, with the first-place teams from each half in each division (or a wild card team if the same club won both halves) meeting in a best-of-five divisional playoff series. The four survivors would then move on to the two best-of-five League Championship Series. The extra round of postseason playoffs were won by the Yankees, Athletics, Expos, and Dodgers.

In Minor League Baseball, split seasons are used by two of the three Class AA leagues, the Southern League and the Texas League, as well as all Class A Advanced leagues (California, Carolina, and Florida State) and full-season Class A leagues (Midwest and South Atlantic). Among the indelendent minor leagues, the Atlantic League and Pacific Association use a split schedule.

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