Seven teams have reached the league championship rounds. The eighth will be decided on October 10, when the Guardians and White Sox play Game 5 of their division series in Cleveland. After that, two American League finalists and two National League finalists remain, and the World Series pairings are confirmed.

That matters for anyone planning what to wear in October, because the two clubs still playing are the two with the longest wait and the most reason to hold their colours until the games actually happen.

Who is through, and who is not

It is worth being precise here, because a lot of October previews get written in advance and then quietly wrong. As of October 10:

American League. The Tampa Bay Rays swept the New York Yankees 3–0 in the division series, with wins on October 3, 5 and 6. The Rays lost Game 1 by nothing, then won three straight. They open the AL Championship Series at home on October 12 against the winner of the division series still being played. The Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox have all gone home.

National League. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 3–1, closing it out 4–1 on October 7. The Milwaukee Brewers beat the San Diego Padres 3–1, winning Game 4 3–1 the same night. Those two meet in the NL Championship Series, with Game 1 in Milwaukee on October 11. The Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves are out.

So: Rays, Dodgers, Brewers are settled. One AL finalist comes from Cleveland or Chicago tonight.

The colour guide, team by team

Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays' visual identity has leaned light and coastal for a long time, and the home look is a clean, pale palette that photographs well in night conditions under a domed roof. The interesting thing about a Tampa Bay jersey in October is how little of it reads in the wide camera shots — the Rays' palette is a low-contrast one, so if you want to be visible in a photograph of the crowd, home navy or a darker alternative is the practical pick over the traditional home look.

Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers are the two-time reigning champions and will be wearing the home blue that has not meaningfully changed since the era when the ballparks in Los Angeles were split. That continuity is the point: the same colour has been worn in October across generations of players. For a spectator, Dodgers blue is the most immediately readable jersey in baseball — it works at almost any distance and in almost any light.

Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers' story this postseason is the interesting one. They finished the regular season with a franchise-record 103 wins, went 18–6 in September, won the NL Central for a fourth consecutive year, and did it after getting swept by the Padres in August. A franchise-record regular season, then the first-round bye, then a division series win — that is a team that finished the year as well as any club in the sport.

Their home palette is a deep navy, and navy is a genuinely good spectator colour at night: it photographs as a dark block against the outfield grass rather than competing with it. If you are buying a Brewers jersey for October and are not committed to home, navy is the version that will look right in a photograph for years.

Cleveland Guardians or Chicago White Sox. Whichever side comes out of tonight. The two clubs are close enough on paper that this is not a formality. The White Sox are trying to reach the AL Championship Series for the first time since 2005; the Guardians were nine runs up in Game 3 on October 7 and forced this Game 4.

If you are buying for someone who lives in either city, buy the club rather than the outcome. The tie will not break.

How to choose between home and away colours

This is the decision most people get wrong, and it is worth a paragraph because it is cheap to get right.

If you are going to the ballpark: home colours. In nearly every stadium, home uniforms are what the overwhelming majority of people around you will be wearing, and the crowd reads as one block. That is why televised shots of a home crowd look like a single colour field.

If the game is on television and you are watching from home: either. The camera angle that matters is the one behind home plate, and from there the home team's jerseys fill the lower third. Road colours will still read, and the visual contrast of a road jersey in a home crowd is actually a reasonable thing to want in a photograph.

If you are buying for someone who will wear it to both: ask which games they can actually get to. The cost of the wrong answer is a jersey that never gets worn.

Full button or pullover

The other decision is construction. Baseball jerseys come in two builds:

Full button is the traditional one, with buttons down the front and a looser cut designed to be worn untucked. It is the version most collectors recognise as a baseball jersey, and it is what the players have worn for most of the sport's history.

Pullover is the modern one, with a partial placket and a close fit designed to be tucked in. Baseball jerseys stayed loose and full-button for a very long time and moved to pullover comparatively recently, which is why a pullover baseball jersey reads as contemporary and a full button reads as classic.

If you are buying for someone who grew up watching baseball and has opinions about it, full button is the safer default. If you are buying something to wear to a game, either works and the fit matters more than the closure.

What to check before you order

Custom baseball jerseys take 7 to 21 business days to produce, plus 7 to 21 business days for delivery. If the game you are buying for is inside that window, the ready-made route is the one that arrives.

Three things worth deciding before you order anything:

Does the name matter more than the team? Player name and number printing on a custom order restarts production if it changes, and it also has to be right the first time.

Is the size you need between two? Measure a chest over a normal shirt and compare to the size chart rather than trusting the letter. A baseball jersey that fits close is the intention; the cut is roomier in the chest than a t-shirt.

What is the actual delivery address? The delivery window is the same range whether it is going to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe or Australia. No destination gets a longer one, which means a tighter deadline is a tighter deadline everywhere.

Common questions

When does the World Series start?

Game 1 is on Friday, October 23. Game 2 is Saturday the 24th. Games 3, 4 and 5 fall on October 26, 27 and 28. If it goes the distance, Game 6 is on Friday the 30th at the lower-seeded club's park and Game 7 is on Saturday the 31st.

Who has home field advantage?

The higher-seeded club hosts Games 1, 2, 6 and 7. The lower-seeded club hosts Games 3, 4 and 5.

Can I buy a jersey for a team that is still playing tonight?

Yes, and the delivery window is the constraint. Custom baseball jerseys made to order take 7 to 21 business days to produce before shipping even begins. If tonight's winner is the club you want, order ready-made if the game is within about two weeks.

Is it worth buying a World Series jersey at all?

If you already know which club you support, yes — this is the last week of the season and the jersey will get used. If you are buying for a specific person and do not know their club, a gift that names a team can be worse than one that does not; see the gift guide for how to handle that.

How do returns work?

Thirty days, and custom pieces need to come back unused and unworn. Try a fit on over what you would wear underneath rather than against bare skin, because that is the realistic way it will be worn.

Ready to order

Browse all MLB jerseys and all team jerseys. Check our shipping policy for the full delivery detail, and our size guide before ordering a custom piece.

If you are working to a specific date — a game, a birthday, a series of games — ask before you order. We will tell you straight whether it is achievable.