National League Championship Series

The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National League (NL) Division Series. The winner of the NLCS wins the NL pennant and advances to the World Series, MLB's championship series, to play the winner of the American League's (AL) Championship Series. The NLCS began in 1969 as a best-of-five playoff and used this format until 1985, when it changed to its current best-of-seven format.

Billy Bean stands by the NLCS logo at Dodger Stadium in 2016

History

Prior to 1969, the National League champion (the "pennant winner") was determined by the best win-loss record at the end of the regular season. There were four ad hoc three-game playoff series due to ties under this formulation (in 1946, 1951, 1959, and 1962). (The American League had to resolve a tie in 1948, but used a single-game playoff.)

A structured postseason series began in 1969, when both the National and American Leagues were reorganized into two divisions each, East and West. The two division winners within each league played each other in a best-of-five series to determine who would advance to the World Series. In 1985, the format changed to best-of-seven.

The NLCS and ALCS, since the expansion to seven games, are always played in a 2–3–2 format: games 1, 2, 6, and 7 are played in the stadium of the team that has home field advantage, and games 3, 4, and 5 are played in the stadium of the team that does not. Home field advantage is given to the team that has the better record, except that the team that made the postseason as the Wild Card shall not get home field advantage. From 1969 to 1993, home field advantage was alternated between divisions each year regardless of regular season record and from 1995 to 1997 home field advantage was predetermined before the season.

In 1981, a one-off divisional series was held due to a split season caused by a players' strike.

In 1994, the league was restructured into three divisions, with the three division winners and a wild-card team advancing to a best-of-five postseason round, the now-permanent National League Division Series (NLDS). The winners of that round advance to the best-of-seven NLCS.

The Milwaukee Brewers, an American League team between 1969 and 1997, and the Houston Astros, a National League team between 1962 and 2012, are the only franchises to play in both the ALCS and NLCS. The Astros are the only team to have won both an NLCS (2005) and an ALCS (2017). The Astros made four NLCS appearances before moving to the AL in 2013. Every current National League franchise has appeared in the NLCS.

Championship Trophy

The Warren C. Giles Trophy, named for the president of the NL from 1951 to 1969, is awarded to the NLCS winner.[1]

Most Valuable Player Award

See: League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award#National League winners

A Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is given to the outstanding player in the ALCS. No MVP award is given for Division Series play.

The MVP award has been given to a player on the losing team twice, in 1986 to Mike Scott of the Houston Astros and in 1987 to Jeffrey Leonard of the San Francisco Giants.

Although the National League began its LCS MVP award in 1977, the American League did not begin its LCS MVP award until 1980.[2] The winners are listed in several locations:

in the below NLCS results table, in the "Series MVP" column
in the article League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award
on the MLB website[3]

NLCS results (1969–present)

Key

wc	Denotes wild-card team (since 1995)
*	Denotes MVP did not play for winning team

Year	Winner	Manager	Loser	Manager	Record	Series MVP	Network
1969	New York Mets	Gil Hodges	Atlanta Braves	Lum Harris	3–0		NBC
1970	Cincinnati Reds	Sparky Anderson	Pittsburgh Pirates	Danny Murtaugh	3–0		NBC
1971	Pittsburgh Pirates	Danny Murtaugh	San Francisco Giants	Charlie Fox	3–1		NBC
1972	Cincinnati Reds	Sparky Anderson	Pittsburgh Pirates	Bill Virdon	3–2		NBC
1973	New York Mets	Yogi Berra	Cincinnati Reds	Sparky Anderson	3–2		NBC
1974	Los Angeles Dodgers	Walter Alston	Pittsburgh Pirates	Danny Murtaugh	3–1		NBC
1975	Cincinnati Reds	Sparky Anderson	Pittsburgh Pirates	Danny Murtaugh	3–0		NBC
1976	Cincinnati Reds	Sparky Anderson	Philadelphia Phillies	Danny Ozark	3–0		ABC
1977	Los Angeles Dodgers	Tommy Lasorda	Philadelphia Phillies	Danny Ozark	3–1	Dusty Baker, Los Angeles	NBC
1978	Los Angeles Dodgers	Tommy Lasorda	Philadelphia Phillies	Danny Ozark	3–1	Steve Garvey, Los Angeles	ABC
1979	Pittsburgh Pirates	Chuck Tanner	Cincinnati Reds	John McNamara	3–0	Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh	NBC
1980	Philadelphia Phillies	Dallas Green	Houston Astros	Bill Virdon	3–2	Manny Trillo, Philadelphia	ABC
1981	Los Angeles Dodgers	Tommy Lasorda	Montreal Expos	Jim Fanning	3–2	Burt Hooton, Los Angeles	NBC
1982	St. Louis Cardinals	Whitey Herzog	Atlanta Braves	Joe Torre	3–0	Darrell Porter, St. Louis	ABC
1983	Philadelphia Phillies	Paul Owens	Los Angeles Dodgers	Tommy Lasorda	3–1	Gary Matthews, Philadelphia	NBC
1984	San Diego Padres	Dick Williams	Chicago Cubs	Jim Frey	3–2	Steve Garvey, San Diego	ABC
1985	St. Louis Cardinals	Whitey Herzog	Los Angeles Dodgers	Tommy Lasorda	4–2	Ozzie Smith, St. Louis	NBC
1986	New York Mets	Davey Johnson	Houston Astros	Hal Lanier	4–2	Mike Scott, Houston*	ABC
1987	St. Louis Cardinals	Whitey Herzog	San Francisco Giants	Roger Craig	4–3	Jeffrey Leonard, San Francisco*	NBC
1988	Los Angeles Dodgers	Tommy Lasorda	New York Mets	Davey Johnson	4–3	Orel Hershiser, Los Angeles	ABC
1989	San Francisco Giants	Roger Craig	Chicago Cubs	Don Zimmer	4–1	Will Clark, San Francisco	NBC
1990	Cincinnati Reds	Lou Piniella	Pittsburgh Pirates	Jim Leyland	4–2	Rob Dibble and Randy Myers, Cincinnati	CBS
1991	Atlanta Braves	Bobby Cox	Pittsburgh Pirates	Jim Leyland	4–3	Steve Avery, Atlanta	CBS
1992	Atlanta Braves	Bobby Cox	Pittsburgh Pirates	Jim Leyland	4–3	John Smoltz, Atlanta	CBS
1993	Philadelphia Phillies	Jim Fregosi	Atlanta Braves	Bobby Cox	4–2	Curt Schilling, Philadelphia	CBS
1994	Series cancelled[4]	—	—	—	—	—	—
1995	Atlanta Braves	Bobby Cox	Cincinnati Reds	Davey Johnson	4–0	Mike Devereaux, Atlanta	ABC/NBC
1996	Atlanta Braves	Bobby Cox	St. Louis Cardinals	Tony La Russa	4–3	Javy López, Atlanta	Fox
1997	Florida Marlins ^wc	Jim Leyland	Atlanta Braves	Bobby Cox	4–2	Liván Hernández, Florida	NBC
1998	San Diego Padres	Bruce Bochy	Atlanta Braves	Bobby Cox	4–2	Sterling Hitchcock, San Diego	Fox
1999	Atlanta Braves	Bobby Cox	New York Mets ^wc	Bobby Valentine	4–2	Eddie Pérez, Atlanta	NBC
2000	New York Mets ^wc	Bobby Valentine	St. Louis Cardinals	Tony La Russa	4–1	Mike Hampton, New York	Fox
2001	Arizona Diamondbacks	Bob Brenly	Atlanta Braves	Bobby Cox	4–1	Craig Counsell, Arizona	Fox
2002	San Francisco Giants ^wc	Dusty Baker	St. Louis Cardinals	Tony La Russa	4–1	Benito Santiago, San Francisco	Fox
2003	Florida Marlins ^wc	Jack McKeon	Chicago Cubs	Dusty Baker	4–3	Iván Rodríguez, Florida	Fox
2004	St. Louis Cardinals	Tony La Russa	Houston Astros ^wc	Phil Garner	4–3	Albert Pujols, St. Louis	Fox
2005	Houston Astros ^wc	Phil Garner	St. Louis Cardinals	Tony La Russa	4–2	Roy Oswalt, Houston	Fox
2006	St. Louis Cardinals	Tony La Russa	New York Mets	Willie Randolph	4–3	Jeff Suppan, St. Louis	Fox
2007	Colorado Rockies ^wc	Clint Hurdle	Arizona Diamondbacks	Bob Melvin	4–0	Matt Holliday, Colorado	TBS
2008	Philadelphia Phillies	Charlie Manuel	Los Angeles Dodgers	Joe Torre	4–1	Cole Hamels, Philadelphia	Fox
2009	Philadelphia Phillies	Charlie Manuel	Los Angeles Dodgers	Joe Torre	4–1	Ryan Howard, Philadelphia	TBS
2010	San Francisco Giants	Bruce Bochy	Philadelphia Phillies	Charlie Manuel	4–2	Cody Ross, San Francisco	Fox
2011	St. Louis Cardinals ^wc	Tony La Russa	Milwaukee Brewers	Ron Roenicke	4–2	David Freese, St. Louis	TBS
2012	San Francisco Giants	Bruce Bochy	St. Louis Cardinals ^wc	Mike Matheny	4–3	Marco Scutaro, San Francisco	Fox
2013	St. Louis Cardinals	Mike Matheny	Los Angeles Dodgers	Don Mattingly	4–2	Michael Wacha, St. Louis	TBS
2014	San Francisco Giants^wc	Bruce Bochy	St. Louis Cardinals	Mike Matheny	4–1	Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco	Fox/FS1
2015	New York Mets	Terry Collins	Chicago Cubs ^wc	Joe Maddon	4–0	Daniel Murphy, New York	TBS
2016	Chicago Cubs	Joe Maddon	Los Angeles Dodgers	Dave Roberts	4–2	Javier Báez and Jon Lester, Chicago	FS1
2017	Los Angeles Dodgers	Dave Roberts	Chicago Cubs	Joe Maddon	4–1	Chris Taylor and Justin Turner, Los Angeles	TBS
2018	Los Angeles Dodgers	Dave Roberts	Milwaukee Brewers	Craig Counsell	4–3	Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles	Fox/FS1
2019	Washington Nationals^wc	Dave Martinez	St. Louis Cardinals	Mike Shildt	4–0	Howie Kendrick, Washington	TBS

NLCS appearances by team

Apps	Team	Wins	Losses	Win %	Most recent win	Most recent appearance	Games won	Games lost	Game win %
14	St. Louis Cardinals	7	7	.500	2013	2019	38	43	.469
13	Los Angeles Dodgers	7	6	.538	2018	2018	29	32	.475
11	Atlanta Braves	5	6	.455	1999	2001	27	33	.450
9	Philadelphia Phillies	5	4	.556	2009	2010	22	20	.524
9	Pittsburgh Pirates	2	7	.222	1979	1992	17	25	.405
8	Cincinnati Reds	5	3	.625	1990	1995	18	14	.563
8	New York Mets	5	3	.625	2015	2015	26	17	.605
7	San Francisco Giants	5	2	.714	2014	2014	24	15	.615
6	Chicago Cubs	1	5	.167	2016	2017	11	21	.344
4	Houston Astros[lower-alpha 1]	1	3	.250	2005	2005	11	13	.458
2	Miami Marlins[lower-alpha 2]	2	0	1.000	2003	2003	8	5	.615
2	San Diego Padres	2	0	1.000	1998	1998	7	4	.636
2	Arizona Diamondbacks	1	1	.500	2001	2007	4	5	.444
2	Milwaukee Brewers	0	2	.000	-	2018	5	8	.385
2	Washington Nationals[lower-alpha 3]	1	1	.500	2019	2019	6	3	.667
1	Colorado Rockies	1	0	1.000	2007	2007	4	0	1.000

Years of appearance - NLCS

In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of appearances, then by number of wins, and finally by year of first appearance. In the "Season(s)" column, bold years indicate winning NLCS appearances.

Apps	Team	Wins	Losses	Win %	Season(s)
14	St. Louis Cardinals	7	7	.500	1982, 1985, 1987, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019
13	Los Angeles Dodgers	7	6	.538	1974, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1988, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018
11	Atlanta Braves	5	6	.455	1969, 1982, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001
9	Philadelphia Phillies	5	4	.556	1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1993, 2008, 2009, 2010
9	Pittsburgh Pirates	2	7	.222	1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1990, 1991, 1992
8	Cincinnati Reds	5	3	.625	1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1990, 1995
8	New York Mets	5	3	.625	1969, 1973, 1986, 1988, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2015
7	San Francisco Giants	5	2	.714	1971, 1987, 1989, 2002, 2010, 2012, 2014
6	Chicago Cubs	1	5	.167	1984, 1989, 2003, 2015, 2016, 2017
4	Houston Astros[lower-alpha 1]	1	3	.250	1980, 1986, 2004, 2005
2	Miami Marlins[lower-alpha 2]	2	0	1.000	1997, 2003
2	San Diego Padres	2	0	1.000	1984, 1998
2	Washington Nationals[lower-alpha 3]	1	1	.500	1981, 2019
2	Arizona Diamondbacks	1	1	.500	2001, 2007
2	Milwaukee Brewers	0	2	.000	2011, 2018
1	Colorado Rockies	1	0	1.000	2007

Recurring matchups

Count	Matchup	Record	Years
5	Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates	Reds, 4–1	1970, 1972, 1975, 1979, 1990
5	Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies	Phillies, 3–2	1977, 1978, 1983, 2008, 2009
4	San Francisco Giants vs. St. Louis Cardinals	Giants, 3–1	1987, 2002, 2012, 2014
2	Atlanta Braves vs. New York Mets	Tied, 1–1	1969, 1999
2	Atlanta Braves vs. St. Louis Cardinals	Tied, 1–1	1982, 1996
2	Atlanta Braves vs. Pittsburgh Pirates	Braves, 2–0	1991, 1992
2	Houston Astros vs. St. Louis Cardinals	Tied, 1–1	2004, 2005
2	New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals	Tied, 1–1	2000, 2006
2	Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals	Cardinals, 2–0	1985, 2013
2	Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers	Tied, 1–1	2016, 2017

Notes

The Houston Astros moved to the American League in 2013.
The Miami Marlins franchise competed as the Florida Marlins prior to 2012.
The Washington Nationals franchise competed as the Montreal Expos prior to 2005.

References

"'Fantastic feeling' for Bill Giles". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 16, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
League Championship Series Most Valuable Players (MLB.com/News/Awards/History/ ). MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
League Championship Series Most Valuable Players (MLB.com/News/Awards/History/ ). MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
"Baseball-Reference Playoff and World Series Index". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved November 5, 2009.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[HOU-5] The Houston Astros moved to the American League in 2013.

[MIA-6] The Miami Marlins franchise competed as the Florida Marlins prior to 2012.

[WAS-7] The Washington Nationals franchise competed as the Montreal Expos prior to 2005.

[1] "'Fantastic feeling' for Bill Giles". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 16, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2009.

[2] League Championship Series Most Valuable Players (MLB.com/News/Awards/History/ ). MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Retrieved August 31, 2009.

[3] League Championship Series Most Valuable Players (MLB.com/News/Awards/History/ ). MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Retrieved August 31, 2009.

[brefpostseason-4] "Baseball-Reference Playoff and World Series Index". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved November 5, 2009.

National League Championship Series
1969–1970s	1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s–1990s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 ~~1994~~ 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s–2010s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
NL pennant winners MVPs Broadcasters