MLB postseason
Currently no live events
Lock in your postseason picks. Battle through October. Every series is another chance to send more money to your charity.
Nothing to join right now.
Dates for the next one are to be decided. They appear here as soon as they are — or pick another sport below, which may well be running.
What you buy
One buy-in covers the whole postseason, start to finish. You make every pick in one sitting, and that is the last thing it asks of you.
The postseason
once a seasonYou pick the winner of every series, from the opening round to the last.
3 battle rounds inside it, each against a fan from your own city — or, once in a while, a rivalry battle against another city altogether.
- Opening series30% at stake
- Division series30% at stake
- League championships and the final series20% at stake
Banked for your charity the moment it locks10%
Mad4Change, which is what pays the card fees10%
That is the whole of it: 30 + 30 + 20 + 10 + 10 = 100. The first 10% is your charity’s whatever happens next, and we never ask you to cover the card fee on top. From $20, in whole dollars, and you can top it up until it locks.
The field
Who you are picking between, and what it took them to get there.
12 of 30
reach the postseason
Six from each league: the three division winners, then the three best records behind them. The top two seeds in each league skip the opening round, which is why the first round is four short series rather than six.
4
rounds, all of them series
Best-of-three to open, then best-of-five, then two best-of-seven rounds. A team has to win eleven or thirteen games to take the whole thing.
13
series to call
Thirteen decisions for the whole of October, made before the first pitch. That is the smallest number of picks on the site, and the reason this one suits somebody who does not want to think about it again.
How it works
- Pick the winner of every postseason series, not the individual games.
- Three battle rounds: the opening series, the division series, then the league championships and the final series together.
- Every pick is made before the postseason starts, and fixed from the first pitch.
- Leave one blank and your backup rule fills it in: the better record, or the home team.
Every round is a new battle
Each round, you face one other fan. Pick more series correctly and you take a bigger share of the round for your charity. Then the slate resets, the matchups change, and you battle someone new.
- Round 1new opponent
- Round 2new opponent
- Round 3new opponent
Round 1, Philadelphia
Made-up exampleBlitzForGood
Won the roundPlaying for Hometown Food Pantry
Series called right
3
Stake
$20.00
SteelCitySteve
Lost the roundPlaying for Kids' Hospital Fund
Series called right
2
Stake
$20.00
BlitzForGood picked more series right, so the two stakes of $20.00 come together as $40.00:
$28.00
banked for Hometown Food Pantry
Guaranteed. It can never be lost again.
$12.00
carried into round 2
BlitzForGood starts the next round with more at stake.
SteelCitySteve keeps every dollar already banked for Kids' Hospital Fund, and still has a stake waiting in rounds 2 to 3.
Level on correct picks? We look at your score across every round so far, then at who called the series fewer fans got right. If you are still inseparable it is a genuine tie, and each of you keeps your own stake — split the same way a win is, so you both carry something into the next round. In the last round there is no next round, so it is all banked.
Who do you battle?
Your friends, in a group
Start a group, send the link by email or text, and you are matched inside your group first. It is the office pool, except the bragging rights come with donations.
- Set your own buy-in for the group, at or above the $20 minimum.
- Four ready members and your group plays on its own.
- Friends in another city can join and you all battle each other — each of you still playing for a charity where you live.
Your city, in the open pool
No group? You are matched with another fan from your city. Different charities battling each other is the whole point, so the money moves around the city rather than in a circle.
- Matched with someone who gave a similar amount, so it stays fair.
- We avoid pairing you with the same charity, or the same opponent twice.
- Odd number of fans? Three of you battle, and the top score takes both stakes.
Where a $100 donation goes
When the tournament starts, your donation gets put to work. Some is locked in for your charity right away, some is set aside for each battle round, and a small portion helps keep Mad4Change running.
Then the fun starts. Each round gives you a chance to steal a bigger share of the money for your charity. Lose one battle? No problem. You’re back the next round with a new opponent and another shot to take more for your cause.
An example of how a stretch like this one splits. Each stretch carries its own figures, and you will see them before you donate to it.
| Block | Share | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| At stake in Opening series | 30% | $30.00 |
| At stake in Division series | 30% | $30.00 |
| At stake in League championships and the final series | 20% | $20.00 |
| Banked for your charity right away | 10% | $10.00 |
| Mad4Change operational expenses | 10% | $10.00 |
Win a round and you take your opponent's stake for it: a percentage is banked for your charity and the rest carries into your next round. The last round banks everything.
What if I win every round?
Assuming each opponent staked the same as you. This is the best case, not a promise.
| Round | You stake | Round total | Banked | Carried |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banked at the start | — | — | $10.00 | — |
| Opening series | $30.00 | $60.00 | $42.00 | $18.00 |
| Division series | $48.00 | $96.00 | $67.20 | $28.80 |
| League championships and the final series | $48.80 | $97.60 | $97.60 | — |
| Total for your charity | $216.80 | |||
Lose every round instead and your charity still keeps the $10.00 banked at the start, while your stakes bank for other fans' charities. Either way, 90% of every dollar reaches a charity.
Worth knowing about MLB postseason
You pick series, not games
A series is won over several games, so one bad night costs nobody anything — which makes the postseason far less of a lottery than picking individual games would be. It also means far fewer picks: a handful of decisions rather than dozens.
When it runs
2027 postseason
- Registration opens
- September 20, 2027
- First game
- September 29, 2027
- Last game
- November 5, 2027
Dates are from the published schedule and can move for television. Picks close the moment your first game starts, and we remind you before that.
City vs city
Example — the real race starts when the first season opensBattle local fans. Back local charities. Keep the money in your city.
Then, when a rivalry battle comes up, your city gets a chance to steal a bigger share from another city’s total — all while competing to see which city can raise the most for home.
Philadelphia
LeadingPhiladelphia and South Jersey
$6,417.50
banked for Philadelphia charities
- Fans playing
- 174
- Per fan
- $36.88
Pittsburgh
Western Pennsylvania
$4,863.00
banked for Pittsburgh charities
- Fans playing
- 118
- Per fan
- $41.21
- Philadelphia: $6,417.50
- Pittsburgh: $4,863.00
- Combined: $11,280.50 for local charities
Philadelphia leads on the total, but Pittsburgh fans bank more each ($41.21 per fan). Bring more fans and the total follows.
Not in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh? You can still play: pick the city you want to raise money for.