Major League Baseball's second wild card has worked exactly as intended. The fifth playoff berth in each league has made winning divisions more meaningful while keeping more teams within range of October baseball. (In addition to adding compelling, made-for-TV play-in games.)
Manufacturing postseason races is important this September, with perhaps four divisions already decided and the top two teams in a fifth, the AL East, looking like near-locks for postseason berths. The Indians' historic winning streak has put them on the cusp of clinching the AL Central while moving ahead of the Astros for the AL's No. 1 seed. The Astros are going to win the AL West. In the AL East, the Red Sox hold a three-game lead over the Yankees, and New York has a three-game lead for the No. 1 wild card.
In the National League, the Dodgers still have the league's best mark by five games despite their struggles. The Nationals have run away with the NL East, having already clinched a postseason spot. The Diamondbacks have a sizable lead for the first NL wild card.
Despite these locks or near locks, the second wild card -- and the mediocrity-stricken NL Central -- are keeping a number of teams within plausible striking distance of the postseason. With two-and-a-half weeks to play, what do the sport's bubble teams need to do to reach the playoffs?
