Major League Baseball has decided to start this year’s World Series on Oct. 24. MLB introduced a flexible schedule last year if both League Championship Series ended in five games or fewer, but the New York Mets extended the NL Championship Series to six games. The World Series is set to begin on a Friday for the fifth consecutive year. The playoff format, which began in 2022, includes 12 teams, with the top two in each league receiving first-round byes. All four best-of-three Wild Card Series are scheduled for consecutive days from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 at the side of the higher seed.