The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series" dates from 1981, when due to a mid-season players' strike, that season was divided into two halves, with the winners of each half from each division playing one another in a best-of-five series to decide which team would represent that division in the League Championship Series (this format being common in minor-league baseball). But because the two halves of the season were independent of one another, the winner of the first half had no real incentive to try to win the second half as well (since, unlike in the minor leagues, if the same team did win both halves it was not given a bye into the next round), and a team that won neither half could have actually had the best overall record in the division; indeed, the latter actually occurred, as the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals had the two best won-lost records (in both halves of the season combined) in the National League West and East respectively, with the Reds having the best overall winning percentage in all of Major League Baseball, yet neither advanced to the playoffs because they finished second in their divisions in each half. Until 2012, when the rules changed, this was the only Division Series which actually consisted of teams from the same division playing each other. This particular Division Series was meant as a one-off series due to the strike. 1993–1994: Proposal, realignment, and cancellation of 1994 postseason In 1993, the owners approved the reintroduction of the Division Series, this time on a permanent basis, given the fact that three of the four series in the one-off 1981 Division Series went to a game 5. Originally the format called for the top team in the AL East to play the 2nd place team in the AL West and vice versa. In 1994, both the National League and the American League realigned, with the number of divisions in both increasing from two to three (adding a Central Division, with fewer teams in each division). At the same time, the number of teams qualifying for baseball's postseason was doubled, from four to eight; henceforth the three first-place teams from each