National League Champions Logos

National League Trophy
National League Team Logos • World Series Champs • American League Champs • National League Champs • AL Central Champs • AL East Champs • AL West Champs • NL Central Champs • NL East Champs • NL West Champs
2013 NL East Batting Practice Caps and Uniforms
2013 NL East Batting Practice Caps and Uniforms

The National League Championship is awarded to the team who wins the National League Championship Series, a best of 7 series held between the surviving teams at the end an annual playoff tournament which follows the 162 game regular season. Winning teams are presented the Warren C. Giles Trophy. As National League Champion a team immediately moves on to play the American League Champion for Major League Baseball's World Series Championship.

From their first season in 1876 through 1968 the NL champion was simply the team that finished first in the league in the regular season, no playoff was held. The league split into two divisions in 1969 which pitted the NL East and NL West division champions against each other in a best of 5 playoff series (expanded to best of 7 starting in 1985). In 1994 the NL Central Division was added which, along with a Wildcard team, created an extra round of playoffs - a best of 5 known as the NLDS. In 2012 a second wildcard team was added to the NL Playoffs which made necessary the addition of a third round of league playoffs, a single game between the two wildcard teams.