2008 Major League Baseball postseason

The 2008 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2008 season. The winners of the Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.

In the American League, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim returned to the postseason for the fifth time in seven years, the Boston Red Sox returned for the fifth time in six years, the Chicago White Sox made their third appearance in the past nine years, and the Tampa Bay Rays made their postseason debut. This was the first postseason since 1993 to not feature the New York Yankees, who had previously made thirteen straight appearances from 1995 to 2007.

In the National League, the Chicago Cubs returned for the third time in six years, marking the first time since 1906 that both Chicago teams made the postseason. The Cubs had Lou Pinella leading them to the division title. The Philadelphia Phillies made their second straight appearance, the Los Angeles Dodgers made their third appearance in the past five years, and the Milwaukee Brewers made their first postseason appearance since 1982 (first as a member of the National League).

The postseason began on October 1, 2008, and ended on October 29, 2008, with the Phillies defeating the Rays in five games in the 2008 World Series. It was the first championship won by the Phillies since 1980.

Playoff seeds
The following teams qualified for the postseason:

American League

 * 1) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – AL West champions, 100–62
 * 2) Tampa Bay Rays – AL East champions, 97–65
 * 3) Chicago White Sox – AL Central champions, 89–74
 * 4) Boston Red Sox – AL Wild Card qualifier, 95–67

National League

 * 1) Chicago Cubs – NL Central champions, 97–64
 * 2) Philadelphia Phillies – NL East champions, 92–70
 * 3) Los Angeles Dodgers – NL West champions, 84–78
 * 4) Milwaukee Brewers – NL Wild Card qualifier, 90–72

Playoff bracket
  Note: Two teams in the same division could not meet in the division series.

(1) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. (4) Boston Red Sox
In a rematch of the previous year's ALDS, the Red Sox again defeated the Angels to advance to the ALCS for the second year in a row.

Jon Lester out-dueled John Lackey in Game 1 as the Red Sox prevailed by a 4-1 score. Game 2 was an offensive duel between both teams as the game was tied at 5 going into the top of the ninth, until J.D. Drew won the game for the Red Sox with a two-run home run. When the series shifted to Boston for Game 3, the Angels narrowly prevailed after a 12-inning duel thanks to a solo home run from Mike Napoli. The Angels' Game 3 win ended an 11-game postseason losing streak against the Red Sox that dated back to the 1986 ALCS, and a nine-game overall postseason skid that dated back to the 2005 ALCS. However, that would be all the Angels could do, as the Red Sox prevailed in Game 4 by a 3-2 score thanks to a walk-off single from Jed Lowrie.

The Angels would sweep the Red Sox in the ALDS the next year.

(2) Tampa Bay Rays vs. (3) Chicago White Sox
In their postseason debut, the Rays defeated the White Sox in four games to advance to the ALCS for the first time in franchise history.

The Rays would win Game 1 by a 6-4 score as they held off a late rally by the White Sox. Scott Kazmir and the Rays' bullpen would lead Tampa to victory in Game 2 by a 6-2 score despite the White Sox loading the bases in the top of the first. When the series shifted to Chicago, the White Sox would get on the board with a 5-3 victory as Bobby Jenks held off a late rally by the Rays. However, the Rays would win the series in Game 4, as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead early and didn't relinquish it, winning 6-2 to advance to their first-ever ALCS.

The White Sox would not return to the postseason again until 2020.

(1) Chicago Cubs vs. (3) Los Angeles Dodgers
This was the first postseason meeting between the Cubs and Dodgers. The Dodgers swept the Cubs to return to the NLCS for the first time in two decades.

In Game 1, the Cubs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but it would be gone as James Loney hit a grand slam that put the Dodgers ahead for good as they won 7-2. In Game 2, the Dodgers got out to a big lead early and blew out the Cubs 10-3 to take a 2-0 series lead headed to Los Angeles. Hiroki Kuroda and the Dodgers' bullpen would then complete the sweep with a 3-1 victory in Game 3.

Both teams would meet again in the NLCS in 2016 (won by the Cubs), and 2017 (won by the Dodgers).

(2) Philadelphia Phillies vs. (4) Milwaukee Brewers
The Phillies defeated the Brewers in four games to return to the NLCS for the first time since 1993.

Phillies' ace Cole Hamels pitched eight shutout innings of two-hit ball while striking out nine as the Phillies prevailed by a 3-1 score in Game 1. Brett Myers helped lead the Phillies to victory in Game 2 with a solid seven-inning performance. When the series shifted to Milwaukee, the Brewers jumped out to an early lead and held onto it as they won 4-1 to get on the board in the series. However, the Phillies would prevail in Game 4, as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead early and held on to win 6-2 to advance to the NLCS for the first time in 15 years.

The Brewers would return to the postseason again in 2011, where they defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games in the NLDS before falling in the NLCS to the St. Louis Cardinals.

(2) Tampa Bay Rays vs. (4) Boston Red Sox
This was the first postseason meeting between the Rays and Red Sox. Despite blowing a 3–1 series lead, the Rays managed to hold on and advance to the World Series for the first time in franchise history, denying the Red Sox a shot at back-to-back titles.

Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched eight solid innings as the Red Sox shut out the Rays 2-0 in Game 1 on the road. The Rays would prevail in a Game 2 slugfest by a 9-8 score thanks to a walk-off sacrifice fly by B.J. Upton. Game 2 lasted 5 hours and 27 minutes, and featured seven home runs, which broke the ALCS record and tied the all-time LCS record. When the series shifted to Boston, Matt Garza put in a solid six-inning performance and the Rays' bullpen kept the Red Sox bats silent as the Rays prevailed in a blowout win, 9-1. The Rays would blow out the Red Sox again in Game 4 by a 13-4 score to go up 3-1 in the series.

In Game 5, the Rays looked poised to close out the series with yet another blowout win as they lead 7-0 going into the bottom of the seventh. However, the Red Sox pulled off an improbable rally to win 8-7 and send the series back to Tampa. The Red Sox's Game 5 comeback was the second-largest in postseason history, the largest since Game 4 of the 1929 World Series, and the largest ever for a team on the brink of elimination. When the series returned to Tampa for Game 6, the Red Sox prevailed by a 4-2 score to force a seventh game. However, the defending World Series champions would come up short. Despite taking an early lead, the Rays put up three unanswered runs as they won 3-1 to secure their first ever AL pennant.

The Red Sox would return to the ALCS in 2013, where they defeated the Detroit Tigers in six games en route to a World Series title. The Rays would win their next AL pennant in 2020 against the Houston Astros in seven games.

The Rays and Red Sox would meet again in the ALDS in 2013, and 2021, with both being won by the Red Sox.

(2) Philadelphia Phillies vs. (3) Los Angeles Dodgers
This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Phillies and Dodgers. They had previously met in the NLCS in 1977, 1978 and 1983, with the Dodgers winning the former two and the Phillies winning the latter. The Phillies defeated the Dodgers in five quick games to return to the World Series for the first time since 1993.

In Game 1, the Dodgers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but it would vanish in the bottom of the sixth as Chase Utley and Pat Burrell would lead the Phillies to a 3-2 victory with a pair of home runs. Game 2 was an offensive duel in which the Phillies' bullpen held off a rally by the Dodgers to go up 2-0 in the series headed to Los Angeles. In Game 3, the Dodgers blew out the Phillies to get on the board in the series. Game 3 was marred by controversy, as a dramatic benches-clearing incident in the third inning occurred when Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda threw a fastball over the head of the Phillies' Shane Victorino. This came in retaliation for Phillies starter Jamie Moyer hitting Dodgers catcher Russell Martin in the knee in the first inning and reliever Clay Condrey nearly hitting Martin again in the second, which came after Brett Myers nearly hit Martin and threw behind Manny Ramírez in Game 2. Game 4 was yet another offensive slugfest that was won by the Phillies, 7-5, as Victorino and Matt Stairs hit a pair of two-run home runs in the bottom of the eighth which put the Phillies ahead for good. NLCS MVP Cole Hamels pitched a complete game in Game 5 as the Phillies prevailed by a 5-1 score to win the NL pennant.

The two teams met again in next year's NLCS, with the same result as this series. The Dodgers would not win the NL pennant until 2017.

(AL2) Tampa Bay Rays vs. (NL2) Philadelphia Phillies
† - Game suspended in the sixth inning due to rain.

This was the first World Series since 2001 to not feature a Wild Card team. It was also the first since 2003 to feature a team from Florida, and the first since 1993 to feature a team from Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Rays in five games to win their first championship since 1980.

Cole Hamels out-dueled Scott Kazmir in Game 1 as the Phillies prevailed by a 3-2 score. In Game 2, David Price held off a late rally by the Phillies to help the Rays even the series headed to Philadelphia. In Game 3, the Phillies would prevail by a 5-4 score as reliever J.C. Romero held off a late rally by the Rays. Then, the Phillies blew out the Rays in Game 4 by a 10-2 score to take a 3-1 series lead. In Game 5, the Phillies jumped out to a 3-2 lead going into the sixth, but was then hit by a delay thanks to heavy rain and delayed to Wednesday, October 29. Game 5 of the 2008 World Series was the first game in World Series history not to be played through to completion or declared a tie. However, the rain delay did not help the Rays, as the Phillies prevailed thanks to a single from Pedro Feliz which gave the Phillies a 4-3 victory and the title.

This was the first championship of the four major North American sports leagues won by a team from Philadelphia since 1983, when the Philadelphia 76ers won the 1983 NBA Finals. The Rays would return to the World Series again in 2020, but were defeated by the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. The Phillies returned to the World Series the very next year in hopes of defending their title, but fell to the New York Yankees in six games. The Phillies would also make another appearance in the World Series in 2022, but they would fall to the Houston Astros, also in six games.

Broadcasting
This was the second postseason under a seven-year U.S. rights agreement with Fox and TBS. TBS primarily aired all Division Series games, with sister network TNT used as an overflow channel. TBS also had the American League Championship Series. Fox televised the National League Championship Series and the World Series.