Albert Pujols taking his final swings in October. Julio Rodríguez stepping in for the first time. Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer facing Manny Machado and Juan Soto.
Bryce Harper, back at last. José Ramírez and his Cleveland teammates trying to break a long drought — with a new name for their club.
And all with Aaron Judge, Justin Verlander, Freddie Freeman, Austin Riley and other top stars looming, ready to jump into the battle next week.
The entire Major League Baseball playoff picture came into focus late Tuesday night, all of the matchups set just before the last day of the regular season.
The postseason, expanded from 10 teams in 2021 to 12 this year, begins Friday with a newly created wild-card round. All four series are best two of three: three days in a row, no breaks, with the higher seed hosting every game.
In the National League, the San Diego Padres visit the New York Mets while the Philadelphia Phillies visit the St. Louis Cardinals. In the American League, the Seattle Mariners visit the Toronto Blue Jays while the Tampa Bay Rays visit the Cleveland Guardians.
At Citi Field, New York figures to throw aces deGrom and Scherzer at the Padres, who feature big-hitting Machado and Soto, the latter a trade deadline acquisition. The Mets' bid to win a division title ended when they were beaten out by the Atlanta Braves — the reigning World Series champions, they finished on top of the NL East standings for the fifth year in a row — but New York is the top wild-card team in the NL.
"We have to go on the road and play against a tough team and beat some of the best pitchers in the game," Machado said. "It is about going out there and enjoying the moment."
The winner's reward is a best-of-five division series against Freeman and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won the NL West for the ninth time in 10 seasons and had MLB's best record this regular season while setting a franchise record for victories.
At Busch Stadium in St. Louis, star slugger Pujols and veteran catcher Yadier Molina — both are retiring after the season — get another home series with the Cardinals as Harper and the Phillies come to town. The Cardinals won the NL Central, but as the No. 3 seed they don't get the benefit of a bye.
Pujols was a three-time NL MVP and a two-time World Series champion with the Cardinals in the first half of his career before spending a decade with the Los Angeles Angels and most of last season with the Dodgers. The 42-year-old has looked like a 24-year-old version of himself down the stretch, topping 700 career home runs and passing Babe Ruth for second place on MLB's career RBIs list.
Harper, a two-time MVP, makes his first playoff appearance since 2017 with the Washington Nationals. He missed two months in the middle of this season because of a broken thumb but is ready to swing away for the Phillies, who finished a distant behind Atlanta and New York in the division.
The Cardinals-Phillies winner advances to a division series against NL No. 2 seed Atlanta, which boasts a powerful lineup that includes Riley, the 25-year-old third baseman whose career-high 38 home runs helped the Braves lead the league with 243.
In Cleveland, Ramírez leads a young team that includes rookie sparkplug Steven Kwan and hard-throwing closer Emmanuel Clase as the AL Central champs host Tampa Bay.
This will be Cleveland's first postseason appearance as the Guardians. The team formerly known as the Indians hasn't won the World Series since 1948. Randy Arozarena, already established as a playoff star, will try to boost the Rays to the first championship in franchise history.
The Guardians went 4-2 against the Rays this year, winning two of three last week in Cleveland. All three games in the series were decided by one run, with two going to extra innings.
"It will be a good environment," Tampa Bay second baseman Taylor Walls. "It's a good thing that we just went there. ... I know the guys are amped up. We're ready to be there."
Judge, fresh off hitting his 62nd home run Tuesday night to set the AL single-season record, and the New York Yankees will host the Guardians-Rays winner in a division series.
In Toronto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays, the AL's top wild card, take on Seattle and its rookie sensation, Rodríguez. The series also matches Robbie Ray, who won the AL Cy Young Award with Toronto last year, against his former team.
Verlander and the Houston Astros, the reigning AL champions, start at home in a division series against the Seattle-Toronto winner.
All four wild-card series are scheduled to end Sunday. Division series begin Tuesday for both leagues.