";s:4:"text";s:2894:" The players' bonus pool is funded with 60% of the gate receipts for each of the Wild Card games, the first three games of each Division Series, the first four games of each LCS and the first four games of the World Series; limiting the funding for the pool to these games, the minimum number in each series, removes incentive to extend the series for merely fiscal sake. The value of the gate is determined by the size of the venues, the amount of high-priced premium seating in the venues, the number of games played in the series and whether the games sell out. The 2018 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven series pitting the defending World Series champion Houston Astros against the Boston Red Sox, for the American League pennant and the right to play in the 2018 World Series. The 2018 National League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff pitting the Milwaukee Brewers against the Los Angeles Dodgers, for the National League (NL) pennant and the right to play in the 2018 World Series against the AL Champions, the Boston Red Sox. This one-year change eliminated a travel day prior to a decisive Game 5 of a Division Series and was necessary because the 2012 regular-season schedule was announced before the agreement on the new postseason was reached. Since 2013, the Division Series restored the 2-2-1 format.Under this format, a second wild card team has been added to each league, i.e., the team with the second-highest win total in each league among non-division winners. The Major League Baseball postseason is an elimination tournament held after the conclusion of the MLB regular season. The 2018 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2018 season. Under this format, in the two Divisional Series, the wild card team played the divisional champion outside its own division that had the better record, with the remaining two teams playing each other in the second Division Series for each league.