MLB 2026 — MLB Survivor Pools

MLB Survivor Pools

Weekly MLB survivor works on a different rhythm from football. Instead of one game, a pick covers a team's whole week — typically six or seven games — and you survive if that team finishes the period at or above .500. Going 4-3 is a pass. Going 3-4 costs a life. Over a 26-week regular season that turns into a genuine test of reading a schedule rather than calling a single result.

The baseball season's length makes this format a gauntlet. A football survivor pool gives an entrant 18 decisions; MLB gives them the better part of thirty, against a schedule where a good team can go 2-5 in a bad week and a mediocre one can sweep a doubleheader-laden homestand. Starting rotations, road trips and whether a team is in good form often matters far more than the standings do.

MLB pools also support an optional Bonus Pool, which pays entrants for statistical achievements from their weekly selection — a no-hitter, an offensive outburst, a player hitting for the cycle — and "Shooting the Moon", which rewards the opposite of what the main pool asks for (if you've ever played Hearts, you'll understand the reference). Both are opt-in for entrants even when a commissioner enables them for a pool.

How to set up a MLB Survivor pool

1. Set lives, entries and insurance optionsA 26-week season is a long one, so allowing entrants more than one life -- potentially with a rebuy cost associated with any revivals beyond their first life -- is common. Missed-pick insurance matters here too — a forgotten Monday should not necessarily end someone's summer.
2. Decide on the Bonus PoolOptional, and separately opt-in for entrants. It pays out for player and team achievements from weekly picks and is tracked in the pool finances.
3. Invite your groupWeekly records, eliminations and bonus achievements are all computed from live game data.

Create your MLB Survivor pool — free to set up. Payment is due only after your game has kicked off and you are certain ALA's software can provide you with everything you need.

Frequently asked questions

How does weekly MLB survivor work?

You pick one team per weekly period. If that team finishes the week with a winning record — at or above .500 across their games that week — you advance. If they finish under .500 you lose a life. The last entry standing wins.

What happens if a team goes exactly .500 for the week?

An even record is a pass, not an elimination. The threshold is finishing under .500, so a 3-3 week survives.

What is the Bonus Pool?

It is an optional side game that awards prizes for outstanding statistical achievements by the team or players in your weekly selection. A commissioner chooses whether to enable it and which bonuses to include, and each entrant chooses individually whether to participate. Any bonus prizes are settled among the participating entrants themselves — never by ALA — and can be tracked in the pool's finances.

What is Shoot the Moon?

It is an optional MLB component that rewards the inverse of the main pool's objective -- going winless in a week GAINS an entrant a life, rather than costing them one.

How long does an MLB survivor pool last?

The regular season runs roughly 26 weekly periods, which is far longer than a football pool. Most commissioners give entrants multiple lives so the field is not decimated by June.

New to survivor? Read survivor pool rules, explained, or how to run a survivor pool if you're the commissioner. Compare every format in survivor vs pick'em vs confidence, or look up a term in the sports pool glossary.