SWC75
Bored Historian
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I’ve always thought that baseball was best off with four divisions: East and West in each league, as we had from 1969-93. Expanded playoffs are bad for baseball for several reasons:
- It’s a warm-weather sport that shouldn’t have its championship decided with players and fans shivering.
- Its season is twice as long as basketball and hockey, (in terms of the number of games played), and 10 times as long as football. That’s long enough to negate any anomalies and put the right teams at the top of the standings.
- It’s the game where the best teams have the worst winning percentages of any sport and the worst teams have the highest winning -percent ages of any sport. That’s because the game is played in rotations, with your best hitter coming up every 9 spots in your batting order and your best pitcher pitching every 5th game. It’s also because there is almost no physical contact between the teams, no blocking, tackling, checking into the boards, no blitz or full court press. You can’t physically force the other team to lose. Defense cannot produce offense and the fielders are too far apart to make up for each other’s deficiencies. And, of course, there is not clock and thus no running out the clock. That makes it more likely that a team that is clearly not the best team or even among the best can win the championship if they are included in the playoffs. Wild cards and small divisions are what put such teams in the playoffs.
- The lifeblood of baseball used to be its pennant races. They dominated the sports pages in August and September. Expanded playoffs eliminate pennant races. Battles for the last playoff spots simply cannot make up for that. They transfer the drama to October, which cedes August and September to football. By the time the playoffs start, people are saying “are they still playing?”
This led me to re-imagine what baseball history over the last 6 decades might have bene if we’d had the four-division set-up throughout. The era should have begin with 1962 but the American league, once they decided to expand, decided to beat the National League, (then a true rival: there was no ‘MLB’). If they debuted in the same year, I believe they would have split the leagues into two divisions at that time. I’m also a believer in geography. It never made any sense to have Atlanta and Cincinnati in the NL West and Chicago and St. Louis in the NL East. The third expansion should have been in the same year, not 1977 for the AL and 1993 for the NL. And the fourth expansion should have been to 32 teams so we could now have four 8 teams divisions, just as we had two 8 team leagues for six decades before the first expansion. That set up survived two world wars, a pandemic and the depression with minimal broadcasting revenue and racial segregation through most of that period and no one went out of business. Every team in the World Series was at least 20 games over .500. (The Dodgers were 18 games over in 1959 but swept a best of three series for the pennant to put them at 20 games over.) And no one complained that there were too few teams in the playoffs. A set-up with 32 teams in four divisions could work just as well.
So let’s imagine a 1962 line-up with two five team divisions in the American League and in the National League:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Washington Senators
AL West: Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City (Oakland) Athletics, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins
NL East: Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates,
AL West: Houston Colt 45s(Astros), Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants
The movement of the Braves from Milwaukee to Atlanta would necessitate a change for 1966:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Washington Senators
AL West: Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Athletics, Los Angeles (California) Angels, Minnesota Twins
NL East: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates,
AL West: Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants
Here would be the 1969 line-up:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Washington Senators
AL West: California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Pilots, (who became the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970)
NL East: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates
AL West: Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
The Washington Senators because the Texas Rangers in 1972:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees,
AL West: California Angels, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers
NL East: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates,
AL West: Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
The Blue Jays and Mariners arrive in 1976:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays
AL West: California Angels, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
NL East: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates,
AL West: Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
The Marlins and the Rockies appear in 1993:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays
AL West: California (Anaheim) Angels, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
NL East: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Florida Marlins, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates,
AL West: Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
The Devil Rays and Diamondbacks debut in 1998:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Rays), Toronto Blue Jays
AL West: Anaheim (Los Angeles) Angels, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
NL East: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Florida (Miami) Marlins, Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
In 2011 the Brewers and the Astros switched leagues. They will take each other’s place in the western divisions:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Rays), Toronto Blue Jays
AL West: Anaheim (Los Angeles) Angels, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
NL East: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Florida (Miami) Marlins, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
We really need one more team in the AL West and the NL East, but I’ll work with what we have. Obviously the real-world records of these teams would not be identical because they are in a fantasy alignment but, again, I’ll work with what I have.
1962
AL: New York Yankees (96-66 +10.5g) vs. Minnesota Twins (91-71 +5.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (98-64 +4.5g) vs. San Francisco Giants won playoff vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (101-61)
1963
AL: New York Yankees (104-57 +18.5g) vs. Chicago White Sox (94-68 +2.5g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (87-75, +1.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (99-63 +6.0g)
1964
AL: New York Yankees (99-63 +2.0g) vs. Chicago White Sox (98-64 +13.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds vs. Philadelphia Phillies (92-70) in a playoff winner vs. St. Louis Cardinals (93-69 +3.0g)
1965
AL: Baltimore Orioles (94-68 +7.0g) vs. Minnesota Twins (102-60 +7.0g)
NL: Pittsburgh Pirates (90-72 +1.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (97-65 +2.0g)
1966
AL: Baltimore Orioles (97-63 +17.0g) vs. Minnesota Twins (89-73 +1.0g)
NL: Pittsburgh Pirates (92-70 +5.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (95-67 +1.5g)
1967
AL: Boston Red Sox (92-70 +15.5g) vs. winner of playoff Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins (91-71)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (87-75 +5.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (101-60 +10.5g)
1968
AL: Baltimore Orioles (91-71 +4.5g) vs. Detroit Tigers (103-59 +21.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (83-79 +2.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (97-65 +9.0g)
1969
AL: Baltimore Orioles (109-53 +19.0g) vs. Minnesota Twins (97-65 +9.0g)
NL: New York Mets (100-62 +7.0g) vs. Chicago Cubs (92-70 +2.0g)
1970
AL: Baltimore Orioles (108-54 +15.0g) vs. Minnesota Twins (98-64 +9.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (102-60 +13.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (87-74 +1.5g)
1971
AL: Baltimore Orioles (101-57 +12.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (101-60 +16.0g)
NL: Pittsburgh Pirates (97-65 +14.0g) vs. playoff winner St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants (90-72)
1972
AL: Chicago White Sox (87-67 +2.5g) vs. Oakland Athletics (93-62 +15.5g)
NL: playoff Pittsburgh Pirates (96-59) vs. Cincinnati Reds (95-59) vs. playoff between Houston Astros (84-69) and Los Angeles Dodgers (85-70)
There was a lock-out that delayed the season. The games were not made up. I decided to treat the two NL races as tied.
1973
AL: Baltimore Orioles (97-65 +8.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (94-68 +6.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (99-63 +16.5g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (95-66 +7.5g)
1974
AL: Baltimore Orioles (91-71 +2.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (90-72 +5.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (98-64 +10.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (102-60 +15.5g)
1975
AL: Boston Red Sox (95-65 +4.5g) vs. Oakland Athletics (98-64 +7.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (108-54 +15.5g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (88-74 +6.0g)
1976
AL: New York Yankees (97-62 +10.5g) vs. Kansas City Royals (90-72 +2.5g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (102-60 +1.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (92-70 +12.0g)
1977
AL: New York Yankees (100-62 +2.5g) vs. Kansas City Royals (102-60 +8.0g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (101-61 +5.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (98-64 +15.0g)
1978
AL: New York Yankees won playoff over Boston Red Sox (99-63) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (93-69 +1.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (92-69 +2.5g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (95-67 +6.0g)
1979
AL: Baltimore Orioles (102-57 +11.5g) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (95-66 +7.5g)
NL: Pittsburgh Pirates (98-64 +2.0g) vs. Houston Astros (89-73 +3.0g)
1980
AL: New York Yankees (103-59 +3.0g) vs. Kansas City Royals (97-65 +14.0g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (91-71 +1.0g) vs. playoff winner between Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers (92-70)
1981 (I didn’t like the split season concept)
AL: Baltimore Orioles (59-46 +1.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (64-45 +2.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (66-42 +6.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (63-47 +4.0g)
1982
AL: Baltimore Orioles (94-68 +5.0g) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (95-67 +2.0g)
NL: Playoff between Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies (89-73) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (92-70 +4.0g)
1983
AL: Chicago White Sox (99-63 +1.0g) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (87-75 +8.0g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (90-72 +2.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (91-71 +6.0g)
1984
AL: Detroit Tigers (104-58 +15.0g) vs. Kansas City Royals (84-78 +3.0g)
NL: New York Mets 90-72 +9.0g) vs. Chicago Cubs (96-65 +4.5g)
1985
AL: Toronto Blue Jays (99-62 +2.0g) vs. Kansas City Royals (91-71 +1.0g)
NL: New York Mets (98-64 +8.5g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (101-61 +6.0g)
1986
AL: Boston Red Sox (95-66 +5.5g) vs. California Angels (92-70 +5.0g)
NL: New York Mets (108-54 +21.5g) vs. Houston Astros (96-66 +10.0g)
1987
AL: Detroit Tigers (98-64 +2.0g) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (91-71 +6.0g)
NL: New York Mets (92-70 +1.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (95-67 +5.0g)
1988
AL: Boston Red Sox (89-73 +1.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (104-58 +13.0g)
NL: New York Mets (100-60 +13.5g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (94-67 +11.0g)
1989
AL: Toronto Blue Jays (89-73 +2.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (99-63 +7.0g)
NL: New York Mets (87-75 +6.0g) vs. Chicago Cubs (93-69 +1.0g)
1990
AL: Chicago White Sox (94-68 +6.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (103-59 +20.0g)
NL: Pittsburgh Pirates (95-67 +4.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (86-76 +1.0g)
1991
AL: Toronto Blue Jays (91-71 +4.0g) vs. Minnesota Twins (95-67 +10.0g)
NL: Pittsburgh Pirates (98-64 +4.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (93-69 +9.0g)
1992
AL: Toronto Blue Jays (96-66 +7.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (96-66 +4.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (98-64 +2.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (83-79 +1.0g)
1993
AL: Toronto Blue Jays (95-67 +1.0g) vs. Texas Rangers (86-76 +2.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (104-58 +7.0g) vs. San Francisco Giants (103-59 +16.0g)
1994 (Let’s pretend there was a post season)
AL: New York Yankees (70-43 +3.0g) vs. Kansas City Royals (64-51 +10.0g)
NL: Montreal Expos (74-40 +6.0g) vs. Houston Astros (66-49 +7.5g)
1995
AL: Cleveland Indians (100-44 +14.0g) vs. Seattle Mariners (79-66 +1.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (90-54 +5.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (78-66 +1.0g)
1996
AL: Cleveland Indians (99-62 +7.5g) vs. Texas Rangers (90-72 +4.5g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (96-66 +8.0g) vs. San Diego Padres (91-71 +1.0g)
1997
AL: Baltimore Orioles (98-64 +2.0g) vs. Seattle Mariners (90-72 +6.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (101-61 +9.0g) vs. San Francisco Giants (90-72 +2.0g)
1998
AL: New York Yankees (114-48 +22.0g) vs. Texas Rangers (88-74 +3.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (106-56 +18.0g) vs. Houston Astros (102-60 +4.0g)
1999
AL: New York Yankees (98-64 +1.0g) vs. Texas Rangers (95-67 +8.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (103-59 +6.5g) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (100-62 +3.0g)
2000
AL: Chicago White Sox (95-67 +5.0g) vs. playoff Oakland Athletics (91-70) vs. Seattle Mariners (91-71)
(Both were AL West teams in the real-life alignment. I’ve been unable to find an explanation of why Oakland didn’t have to make up that game, which would have been at Tampa Bay. My guess is that they’d won the season series against Seattle 9-4 and that would have been the tie-breaker for the divisional pennant and Seattle was the wild card team so the game was regarded as unnecessary, which illustrates what wild cards do to pennant races. I decided there should be a playoff.)
NL: Atlanta Braves (95-57 +1.0g) vs. San Francisco Giants (97-65 +2.0g)
2001
AL: New York Yankees (95-65 +5.0g) vs. Seattle Mariners (116-46 +14.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (88-74 +2.0g) vs. playoff between Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals (93-69)
2002
AL: New York Yankees (103-58 +10.5g) vs. Oakland Athletics (103-59 +4.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (101-59 +19.0g) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (98-64 +1.0g)
2003
AL: New York Yankees (101-61 +6.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (96-66 +3.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (101-61 +10.0g) vs. San Francisco Giants (100-61 +12.5g)
2004
AL: New York Yankees (101-61 +3.0g) vs. playoffs: Anaheim Angels and Minnesota Twins (92-70)
NL: Atlanta Braves (96-66 +10.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (105-57 +12.0g)
2005
AL: Chicago White Sox (99-63 +4.0g) vs. Los Angeles Angels (95-67 +7.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (90-72 +2.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (100-62 +11.0g)
2006
AL: New York Yankees (97-65 +2.0g) vs. Minnesota Twins (96-66 +3.0g)
NL: New York Mets (97-65 +12.0g) vs. playoff between Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres (88-74)
2007
AL: Playoff between the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians (96-66) vs. Los Angeles Angels (94-68 +6.0g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (89-73 +1.0g) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (90-72 +1.0g)
(The Colorado Rockies were 89-73, tied with the San Diego Padres for the wild card. They won a one game playoff to go 90-73. Under my system, they would have stayed tied for second.)
2008
AL: Tampa Bay Rays (97-65 +2.0g) vs. Los Angeles Angels (100-62 +12.5g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (92-70 +3.0g) vs. Chicago Cubs (97-64 +7.5g)
2009
AL: New York Yankees (103-59 +8.0g) vs. Los Angeles Angels (97-65 +10.0g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (93-69 +6.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (95-67 +3.0g)
2010
AL: Tampa Bay Rays (96-66 +1.0g) vs. Minnesota Twins (94-68 +6.0g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (97-65 +6.0g) vs. San Francisco Giants (92-70 +2.0g)
2011
AL: New York Yankees (97-65 +2.0g) vs. Texas Rangers (96-66 +10.0g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (102-60 +13.0g) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (96-66 +2.0g)
2012
AL: New York Yankees (95-67 +2.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (94-68 +1.0g)
NL: Washington Nationals (98-64 +1.0g) vs. San Francisco Giants (94-68 +6.0g)
2013
AL: Boston Red Sox (97-65 +4.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (96-66 +5.5g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (96-66 +2.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (97-65 +5.0g)
2014
AL: Baltimore Orioles (96-66 +6.0g) vs. Los Angeles Angels (98-64 +9.0g)
NL: Washington Nationals (96-66 +8.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (94-68 +4.0g)
2015
AL: Toronto Blue Jays (93-69 +6.0g) vs. Kansas City Royals (95-67 +7.0g)
NL: Pittsburgh Pirates (98-64 +8.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (100-62 +3.0g)
2016
AL: Cleveland Indians (94-67 +1.5g) vs. Texas Rangers (95-67 +8.5g)
NL: Washington Nationals (95-67 +8.0g) vs. Chicago Cubs 103-58 +12.5g)
2017
AL: Cleveland Indians (102-60 +9.0g) vs. Houston Astros (101-61 +16.0g)
NL: Washington Nationals (97-65 +20.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (104-58 +11.0g)
2018
AL: Boston Red Sox (108-54 +8.0g) vs. Houston Astros (103-59 +6.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (90-72 +7.5g) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (96-67 +1.0g)
2019
AL: New York Yankees (103-59 +7.0g) vs. Houston Astros (107-55 +6.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (97-65 +4.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (106-56 +15.0g)
2020
AL: Tampa Bay Rays (40-20 +5.0g) vs. playoff between Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics (36-24)
NL: Atlanta Braves (35-25 +4.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (43-17 +6.0g)
2021
AL: Tampa Bay Rays (100-62 +7.0g) vs. Houston Astros (95-67 +5.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (88-73 +5.5g) vs. San Francisco Giants (107-55 +1.0g)
By my stroke tally, I’ve got:
15 playoffs
28 races decided by 1 game and 3 more by 1.5 games
26 races decided by 2 games and 5 more by 2.5 games
13 races decided by 3 games
13 races decided by 4 games and 5 more by 4.5 games
14 races decided by 5 games and 3 more by 5.5 games
22 races decided by 6 games and 1 more by 6.5 games
11 races decided by 7 games and 4 more by 7.5 games
10 races decided by 8 games and 4 more by 8.5 games
8 races decided by 9 games
8 races decided by 10 games and 4 more by 10.5 games
3 races decided by 11 games and 1 more by 11.5 games
4 races decided by 12 games and 3 more by 12.5 games
4 races decided by 13 games and 1 more by 13.5 games
4 races decided by 14 games
4 races decided by 15 games and 4 more by 15.5 games
3 races decided by 16 games and 1 more by 16.5 games
1 race decided by 17 games
1 race decided by 18 games and 1 more by 18.5 games
2 races decided by 19 games
2 races decided by 20 games
1 race decided by 21 games and 1 more by 21.5 games
1 race decided by 22 games
95 races were decided by less than 5 games, meaning they were likely in doubt in the last week of the season, (and others that were might have wound up being decided by more than that). That’s 39% or 1.56 per season, 1 or 2. The average margin of victory was 6.1 games.
Per year, the total games by which the four teams won their pennant races:
1962 20.0, 1963 28.0, 1964 18.0, 1965 17.0, 1966 24.5, 1967 31.0, 1968 36.5, 1969 37.0
1970 38.5, 1971 42.0, 1972 18.0, 1973 38.0, 1974 32.5, 1975 33.0, 1976 26.0, 1977 30.5, 1978 9.5, 1979 24.0
1981 19.0, 1981 13.0, 1982 11.0, 1983 17.0, 1984 31.5, 198517.5, 1986 42.0, 1987 14.0, 1988 38.5, 1989 16.0
1990 31.0, 1991 27.00, 1992 14.0, 1993 26.0, 1994 26.5, 1995 21.0, 1996 21.0, 1997 19.0, 1998 47.00, 1999 18.5
2000 8.00, 2001 21.0, 2002 34.5, 2003 31.5, 2004 25.0, 2005 24.0, 2006 17.0, 2007 8.00, 2008 25.0, 2009 27.0
2010 15.0, 2011 27.00, 2012 10.0, 2013 16.5, 2014 27.0, 2015 24.0, 2016 30.5, 2017 56.0, 2018 22.5, 2019 32.0
2020 15.0, 2021 18.5
Here are the games over .500, (wins – losses) of the participants with the teams that played in shortened seasons noted:
Two teams got in at 4 games over .500, both in full seasons: The 1968 Cincinnati Reds and the 1992 St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds were part of a 5-team division, the Cardinals part of a 6-team division. One got in at +6: the 1984 Kansas City Royals, who were part of a 7-team division. Every other team that got in over 61 seasons, even the teams playing abbreviated schedules, were at least 10 games over .500.
Three teams were +10, one in an abbreviated schedule (AS)
Six teams were +12 two AS
Four teams were +13, three AS
Four teams were +14
Three teams were +15, two AS
Eight teams were +16, one AS
One AS team was +17
Twelve teams were +18
One AS teams was +19
Thirteen teams were +20, two AS
One team was +21
Fourteen teams were +22
One team was +23
Eight teams were +8, one AS
Eleven teams were +26, one AS
Two teams were +27, one AS
Fourteen teams were +14
Four teams were +29
Fifteen teams were +30
Two teams were +31, one AS
Seventeen teams were +32
One team was +33
Nineteen teams were +34, one AS
One team was +35
Ten teams were +36, two AS
Two teams were +37, one AS
Seven teams were +7
One team was +39
Ten teams were +40
Two teams were +41
Eight teams were +42
Ten teams were +44
Three teams were +45
Four teams were +46
One team was +47
One team was +48
Two teams were +50
Two teams were +52
Four teams were +54
One AS team was +56 (Cleveland 1995)
One team was +66 (the 1998 Yankees)
One team was +70 (the 2001 Mariners)
98.8% of the teams were at least ten games over .500
79.2% were at least 20 games over .500 – and we aren’t to four 8 teams divisions yet.
The average team was 27.2 games over .500.
PARTICIPATION
Arizona Diamondbacks 1999, 2002, 2007 (3 times)
Atlanta Braves 1982, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 (19)
Baltimore Orioles 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1997, 2014 (13)
Boston Red Sox 1967, 1975, 1978, 1986, 1988, 2007, 2013, 2018 (8)
Chicago Cubs 1969, 1984, 1989, 2008, 2016 (5)
Chicago White Sox 1963, 1964, 1972, 1983, 1990, 1991, 2000, 2005 (8)
Cincinnati Reds 1962, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1981 (12)
Cleveland Indians 1995, 1996, 2007, 2016, 2017 (5)
Detroit Tigers 1967, 1968, 1984, 1987 (4)
Houston Astros 1972, 1979, 1980, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 (11)
Kansas City Royals 1976, 1977, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1994, 2015 (7)
Los Angeles Angels 1986, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2014 (6)
Los Angeles Dodgers 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020 (26)
Milwaukee Brewers 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1987, 2011, 2018 (7)
Minnesota Twins 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1991, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2020 (11)
Montreal Expos 1994 (now Washington Nationals – see below)
New York Mets 1969, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2006 (8)
New York Yankees 1962, 1963, 1964, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2019 (19)
Oakland Athletics 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2012, 2013, 2020 (16)
Philadelphia Phillies 1963, 1964, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 (11)
Pittsburgh Pirates 1965, 1966, 1971, 1972, 1979, 1990, 1991, 2015 (8)
St. Louis Cardinals 1964, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1992, 2001, 2005, 2015 (11)
San Diego Padres 2006 (1)
San Francisco Giants 1962, 1971, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2021 (11)
Seattle Mariners 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001 (5)
Tampa Bay Rays 2008, 2010, 2020, 2021 (4)
Texas Rangers 1993, 1998, 1999, 2011, 2016 (5)
Toronto Blue Jays 1985, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2015 (6)
Washington Nationals 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017 (4- 5 with the Expos)
Combining the Montreal Expos and Washington Nationals, that’s 28 of the 30 franchises. Missing are the 1993 expansion teams, the Florida/Miami Marlins and the Colorado Rockies. In real life, the Marlins have won two World Series when they were wild-card teams but not much else. The Rockies made it one World Series – also as a wild card - and got swept by the Red Sox. 27 of the 28 other teams have been to my playoffs at least twice. Twenty-one franchises have been to the playoffs at least 5 times and eleven have been there 10 times.
This system, it seems to me, does a better job of assuring that the sport’s championship is decided in warm or at least decent weather, that the teams competing for it have proven over the long season that they deserve to be there and that there would be at least 1-2 really good pennant races each year that would put baseball in the front page every day in August and September.
- It’s a warm-weather sport that shouldn’t have its championship decided with players and fans shivering.
- Its season is twice as long as basketball and hockey, (in terms of the number of games played), and 10 times as long as football. That’s long enough to negate any anomalies and put the right teams at the top of the standings.
- It’s the game where the best teams have the worst winning percentages of any sport and the worst teams have the highest winning -percent ages of any sport. That’s because the game is played in rotations, with your best hitter coming up every 9 spots in your batting order and your best pitcher pitching every 5th game. It’s also because there is almost no physical contact between the teams, no blocking, tackling, checking into the boards, no blitz or full court press. You can’t physically force the other team to lose. Defense cannot produce offense and the fielders are too far apart to make up for each other’s deficiencies. And, of course, there is not clock and thus no running out the clock. That makes it more likely that a team that is clearly not the best team or even among the best can win the championship if they are included in the playoffs. Wild cards and small divisions are what put such teams in the playoffs.
- The lifeblood of baseball used to be its pennant races. They dominated the sports pages in August and September. Expanded playoffs eliminate pennant races. Battles for the last playoff spots simply cannot make up for that. They transfer the drama to October, which cedes August and September to football. By the time the playoffs start, people are saying “are they still playing?”
This led me to re-imagine what baseball history over the last 6 decades might have bene if we’d had the four-division set-up throughout. The era should have begin with 1962 but the American league, once they decided to expand, decided to beat the National League, (then a true rival: there was no ‘MLB’). If they debuted in the same year, I believe they would have split the leagues into two divisions at that time. I’m also a believer in geography. It never made any sense to have Atlanta and Cincinnati in the NL West and Chicago and St. Louis in the NL East. The third expansion should have been in the same year, not 1977 for the AL and 1993 for the NL. And the fourth expansion should have been to 32 teams so we could now have four 8 teams divisions, just as we had two 8 team leagues for six decades before the first expansion. That set up survived two world wars, a pandemic and the depression with minimal broadcasting revenue and racial segregation through most of that period and no one went out of business. Every team in the World Series was at least 20 games over .500. (The Dodgers were 18 games over in 1959 but swept a best of three series for the pennant to put them at 20 games over.) And no one complained that there were too few teams in the playoffs. A set-up with 32 teams in four divisions could work just as well.
So let’s imagine a 1962 line-up with two five team divisions in the American League and in the National League:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Washington Senators
AL West: Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City (Oakland) Athletics, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins
NL East: Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates,
AL West: Houston Colt 45s(Astros), Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants
The movement of the Braves from Milwaukee to Atlanta would necessitate a change for 1966:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Washington Senators
AL West: Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Athletics, Los Angeles (California) Angels, Minnesota Twins
NL East: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates,
AL West: Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants
Here would be the 1969 line-up:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Washington Senators
AL West: California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Pilots, (who became the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970)
NL East: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates
AL West: Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
The Washington Senators because the Texas Rangers in 1972:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees,
AL West: California Angels, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers
NL East: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates,
AL West: Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
The Blue Jays and Mariners arrive in 1976:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays
AL West: California Angels, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
NL East: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates,
AL West: Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
The Marlins and the Rockies appear in 1993:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays
AL West: California (Anaheim) Angels, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
NL East: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Florida Marlins, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates,
AL West: Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
The Devil Rays and Diamondbacks debut in 1998:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Rays), Toronto Blue Jays
AL West: Anaheim (Los Angeles) Angels, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
NL East: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Florida (Miami) Marlins, Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
In 2011 the Brewers and the Astros switched leagues. They will take each other’s place in the western divisions:
AL East: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Rays), Toronto Blue Jays
AL West: Anaheim (Los Angeles) Angels, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers
NL East: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Florida (Miami) Marlins, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
We really need one more team in the AL West and the NL East, but I’ll work with what we have. Obviously the real-world records of these teams would not be identical because they are in a fantasy alignment but, again, I’ll work with what I have.
1962
AL: New York Yankees (96-66 +10.5g) vs. Minnesota Twins (91-71 +5.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (98-64 +4.5g) vs. San Francisco Giants won playoff vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (101-61)
1963
AL: New York Yankees (104-57 +18.5g) vs. Chicago White Sox (94-68 +2.5g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (87-75, +1.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (99-63 +6.0g)
1964
AL: New York Yankees (99-63 +2.0g) vs. Chicago White Sox (98-64 +13.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds vs. Philadelphia Phillies (92-70) in a playoff winner vs. St. Louis Cardinals (93-69 +3.0g)
1965
AL: Baltimore Orioles (94-68 +7.0g) vs. Minnesota Twins (102-60 +7.0g)
NL: Pittsburgh Pirates (90-72 +1.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (97-65 +2.0g)
1966
AL: Baltimore Orioles (97-63 +17.0g) vs. Minnesota Twins (89-73 +1.0g)
NL: Pittsburgh Pirates (92-70 +5.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (95-67 +1.5g)
1967
AL: Boston Red Sox (92-70 +15.5g) vs. winner of playoff Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins (91-71)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (87-75 +5.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (101-60 +10.5g)
1968
AL: Baltimore Orioles (91-71 +4.5g) vs. Detroit Tigers (103-59 +21.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (83-79 +2.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (97-65 +9.0g)
1969
AL: Baltimore Orioles (109-53 +19.0g) vs. Minnesota Twins (97-65 +9.0g)
NL: New York Mets (100-62 +7.0g) vs. Chicago Cubs (92-70 +2.0g)
1970
AL: Baltimore Orioles (108-54 +15.0g) vs. Minnesota Twins (98-64 +9.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (102-60 +13.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (87-74 +1.5g)
1971
AL: Baltimore Orioles (101-57 +12.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (101-60 +16.0g)
NL: Pittsburgh Pirates (97-65 +14.0g) vs. playoff winner St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants (90-72)
1972
AL: Chicago White Sox (87-67 +2.5g) vs. Oakland Athletics (93-62 +15.5g)
NL: playoff Pittsburgh Pirates (96-59) vs. Cincinnati Reds (95-59) vs. playoff between Houston Astros (84-69) and Los Angeles Dodgers (85-70)
There was a lock-out that delayed the season. The games were not made up. I decided to treat the two NL races as tied.
1973
AL: Baltimore Orioles (97-65 +8.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (94-68 +6.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (99-63 +16.5g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (95-66 +7.5g)
1974
AL: Baltimore Orioles (91-71 +2.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (90-72 +5.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (98-64 +10.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (102-60 +15.5g)
1975
AL: Boston Red Sox (95-65 +4.5g) vs. Oakland Athletics (98-64 +7.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (108-54 +15.5g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (88-74 +6.0g)
1976
AL: New York Yankees (97-62 +10.5g) vs. Kansas City Royals (90-72 +2.5g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (102-60 +1.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (92-70 +12.0g)
1977
AL: New York Yankees (100-62 +2.5g) vs. Kansas City Royals (102-60 +8.0g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (101-61 +5.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (98-64 +15.0g)
1978
AL: New York Yankees won playoff over Boston Red Sox (99-63) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (93-69 +1.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (92-69 +2.5g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (95-67 +6.0g)
1979
AL: Baltimore Orioles (102-57 +11.5g) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (95-66 +7.5g)
NL: Pittsburgh Pirates (98-64 +2.0g) vs. Houston Astros (89-73 +3.0g)
1980
AL: New York Yankees (103-59 +3.0g) vs. Kansas City Royals (97-65 +14.0g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (91-71 +1.0g) vs. playoff winner between Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers (92-70)
1981 (I didn’t like the split season concept)
AL: Baltimore Orioles (59-46 +1.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (64-45 +2.0g)
NL: Cincinnati Reds (66-42 +6.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (63-47 +4.0g)
1982
AL: Baltimore Orioles (94-68 +5.0g) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (95-67 +2.0g)
NL: Playoff between Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies (89-73) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (92-70 +4.0g)
1983
AL: Chicago White Sox (99-63 +1.0g) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (87-75 +8.0g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (90-72 +2.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (91-71 +6.0g)
1984
AL: Detroit Tigers (104-58 +15.0g) vs. Kansas City Royals (84-78 +3.0g)
NL: New York Mets 90-72 +9.0g) vs. Chicago Cubs (96-65 +4.5g)
1985
AL: Toronto Blue Jays (99-62 +2.0g) vs. Kansas City Royals (91-71 +1.0g)
NL: New York Mets (98-64 +8.5g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (101-61 +6.0g)
1986
AL: Boston Red Sox (95-66 +5.5g) vs. California Angels (92-70 +5.0g)
NL: New York Mets (108-54 +21.5g) vs. Houston Astros (96-66 +10.0g)
1987
AL: Detroit Tigers (98-64 +2.0g) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (91-71 +6.0g)
NL: New York Mets (92-70 +1.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (95-67 +5.0g)
1988
AL: Boston Red Sox (89-73 +1.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (104-58 +13.0g)
NL: New York Mets (100-60 +13.5g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (94-67 +11.0g)
1989
AL: Toronto Blue Jays (89-73 +2.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (99-63 +7.0g)
NL: New York Mets (87-75 +6.0g) vs. Chicago Cubs (93-69 +1.0g)
1990
AL: Chicago White Sox (94-68 +6.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (103-59 +20.0g)
NL: Pittsburgh Pirates (95-67 +4.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (86-76 +1.0g)
1991
AL: Toronto Blue Jays (91-71 +4.0g) vs. Minnesota Twins (95-67 +10.0g)
NL: Pittsburgh Pirates (98-64 +4.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (93-69 +9.0g)
1992
AL: Toronto Blue Jays (96-66 +7.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (96-66 +4.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (98-64 +2.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (83-79 +1.0g)
1993
AL: Toronto Blue Jays (95-67 +1.0g) vs. Texas Rangers (86-76 +2.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (104-58 +7.0g) vs. San Francisco Giants (103-59 +16.0g)
1994 (Let’s pretend there was a post season)
AL: New York Yankees (70-43 +3.0g) vs. Kansas City Royals (64-51 +10.0g)
NL: Montreal Expos (74-40 +6.0g) vs. Houston Astros (66-49 +7.5g)
1995
AL: Cleveland Indians (100-44 +14.0g) vs. Seattle Mariners (79-66 +1.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (90-54 +5.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (78-66 +1.0g)
1996
AL: Cleveland Indians (99-62 +7.5g) vs. Texas Rangers (90-72 +4.5g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (96-66 +8.0g) vs. San Diego Padres (91-71 +1.0g)
1997
AL: Baltimore Orioles (98-64 +2.0g) vs. Seattle Mariners (90-72 +6.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (101-61 +9.0g) vs. San Francisco Giants (90-72 +2.0g)
1998
AL: New York Yankees (114-48 +22.0g) vs. Texas Rangers (88-74 +3.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (106-56 +18.0g) vs. Houston Astros (102-60 +4.0g)
1999
AL: New York Yankees (98-64 +1.0g) vs. Texas Rangers (95-67 +8.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (103-59 +6.5g) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (100-62 +3.0g)
2000
AL: Chicago White Sox (95-67 +5.0g) vs. playoff Oakland Athletics (91-70) vs. Seattle Mariners (91-71)
(Both were AL West teams in the real-life alignment. I’ve been unable to find an explanation of why Oakland didn’t have to make up that game, which would have been at Tampa Bay. My guess is that they’d won the season series against Seattle 9-4 and that would have been the tie-breaker for the divisional pennant and Seattle was the wild card team so the game was regarded as unnecessary, which illustrates what wild cards do to pennant races. I decided there should be a playoff.)
NL: Atlanta Braves (95-57 +1.0g) vs. San Francisco Giants (97-65 +2.0g)
2001
AL: New York Yankees (95-65 +5.0g) vs. Seattle Mariners (116-46 +14.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (88-74 +2.0g) vs. playoff between Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals (93-69)
2002
AL: New York Yankees (103-58 +10.5g) vs. Oakland Athletics (103-59 +4.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (101-59 +19.0g) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (98-64 +1.0g)
2003
AL: New York Yankees (101-61 +6.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (96-66 +3.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (101-61 +10.0g) vs. San Francisco Giants (100-61 +12.5g)
2004
AL: New York Yankees (101-61 +3.0g) vs. playoffs: Anaheim Angels and Minnesota Twins (92-70)
NL: Atlanta Braves (96-66 +10.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (105-57 +12.0g)
2005
AL: Chicago White Sox (99-63 +4.0g) vs. Los Angeles Angels (95-67 +7.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (90-72 +2.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (100-62 +11.0g)
2006
AL: New York Yankees (97-65 +2.0g) vs. Minnesota Twins (96-66 +3.0g)
NL: New York Mets (97-65 +12.0g) vs. playoff between Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres (88-74)
2007
AL: Playoff between the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians (96-66) vs. Los Angeles Angels (94-68 +6.0g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (89-73 +1.0g) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (90-72 +1.0g)
(The Colorado Rockies were 89-73, tied with the San Diego Padres for the wild card. They won a one game playoff to go 90-73. Under my system, they would have stayed tied for second.)
2008
AL: Tampa Bay Rays (97-65 +2.0g) vs. Los Angeles Angels (100-62 +12.5g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (92-70 +3.0g) vs. Chicago Cubs (97-64 +7.5g)
2009
AL: New York Yankees (103-59 +8.0g) vs. Los Angeles Angels (97-65 +10.0g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (93-69 +6.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (95-67 +3.0g)
2010
AL: Tampa Bay Rays (96-66 +1.0g) vs. Minnesota Twins (94-68 +6.0g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (97-65 +6.0g) vs. San Francisco Giants (92-70 +2.0g)
2011
AL: New York Yankees (97-65 +2.0g) vs. Texas Rangers (96-66 +10.0g)
NL: Philadelphia Phillies (102-60 +13.0g) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (96-66 +2.0g)
2012
AL: New York Yankees (95-67 +2.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (94-68 +1.0g)
NL: Washington Nationals (98-64 +1.0g) vs. San Francisco Giants (94-68 +6.0g)
2013
AL: Boston Red Sox (97-65 +4.0g) vs. Oakland Athletics (96-66 +5.5g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (96-66 +2.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (97-65 +5.0g)
2014
AL: Baltimore Orioles (96-66 +6.0g) vs. Los Angeles Angels (98-64 +9.0g)
NL: Washington Nationals (96-66 +8.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (94-68 +4.0g)
2015
AL: Toronto Blue Jays (93-69 +6.0g) vs. Kansas City Royals (95-67 +7.0g)
NL: Pittsburgh Pirates (98-64 +8.0g) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (100-62 +3.0g)
2016
AL: Cleveland Indians (94-67 +1.5g) vs. Texas Rangers (95-67 +8.5g)
NL: Washington Nationals (95-67 +8.0g) vs. Chicago Cubs 103-58 +12.5g)
2017
AL: Cleveland Indians (102-60 +9.0g) vs. Houston Astros (101-61 +16.0g)
NL: Washington Nationals (97-65 +20.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (104-58 +11.0g)
2018
AL: Boston Red Sox (108-54 +8.0g) vs. Houston Astros (103-59 +6.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (90-72 +7.5g) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (96-67 +1.0g)
2019
AL: New York Yankees (103-59 +7.0g) vs. Houston Astros (107-55 +6.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (97-65 +4.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (106-56 +15.0g)
2020
AL: Tampa Bay Rays (40-20 +5.0g) vs. playoff between Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics (36-24)
NL: Atlanta Braves (35-25 +4.0g) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (43-17 +6.0g)
2021
AL: Tampa Bay Rays (100-62 +7.0g) vs. Houston Astros (95-67 +5.0g)
NL: Atlanta Braves (88-73 +5.5g) vs. San Francisco Giants (107-55 +1.0g)
By my stroke tally, I’ve got:
15 playoffs
28 races decided by 1 game and 3 more by 1.5 games
26 races decided by 2 games and 5 more by 2.5 games
13 races decided by 3 games
13 races decided by 4 games and 5 more by 4.5 games
14 races decided by 5 games and 3 more by 5.5 games
22 races decided by 6 games and 1 more by 6.5 games
11 races decided by 7 games and 4 more by 7.5 games
10 races decided by 8 games and 4 more by 8.5 games
8 races decided by 9 games
8 races decided by 10 games and 4 more by 10.5 games
3 races decided by 11 games and 1 more by 11.5 games
4 races decided by 12 games and 3 more by 12.5 games
4 races decided by 13 games and 1 more by 13.5 games
4 races decided by 14 games
4 races decided by 15 games and 4 more by 15.5 games
3 races decided by 16 games and 1 more by 16.5 games
1 race decided by 17 games
1 race decided by 18 games and 1 more by 18.5 games
2 races decided by 19 games
2 races decided by 20 games
1 race decided by 21 games and 1 more by 21.5 games
1 race decided by 22 games
95 races were decided by less than 5 games, meaning they were likely in doubt in the last week of the season, (and others that were might have wound up being decided by more than that). That’s 39% or 1.56 per season, 1 or 2. The average margin of victory was 6.1 games.
Per year, the total games by which the four teams won their pennant races:
1962 20.0, 1963 28.0, 1964 18.0, 1965 17.0, 1966 24.5, 1967 31.0, 1968 36.5, 1969 37.0
1970 38.5, 1971 42.0, 1972 18.0, 1973 38.0, 1974 32.5, 1975 33.0, 1976 26.0, 1977 30.5, 1978 9.5, 1979 24.0
1981 19.0, 1981 13.0, 1982 11.0, 1983 17.0, 1984 31.5, 198517.5, 1986 42.0, 1987 14.0, 1988 38.5, 1989 16.0
1990 31.0, 1991 27.00, 1992 14.0, 1993 26.0, 1994 26.5, 1995 21.0, 1996 21.0, 1997 19.0, 1998 47.00, 1999 18.5
2000 8.00, 2001 21.0, 2002 34.5, 2003 31.5, 2004 25.0, 2005 24.0, 2006 17.0, 2007 8.00, 2008 25.0, 2009 27.0
2010 15.0, 2011 27.00, 2012 10.0, 2013 16.5, 2014 27.0, 2015 24.0, 2016 30.5, 2017 56.0, 2018 22.5, 2019 32.0
2020 15.0, 2021 18.5
Here are the games over .500, (wins – losses) of the participants with the teams that played in shortened seasons noted:
Two teams got in at 4 games over .500, both in full seasons: The 1968 Cincinnati Reds and the 1992 St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds were part of a 5-team division, the Cardinals part of a 6-team division. One got in at +6: the 1984 Kansas City Royals, who were part of a 7-team division. Every other team that got in over 61 seasons, even the teams playing abbreviated schedules, were at least 10 games over .500.
Three teams were +10, one in an abbreviated schedule (AS)
Six teams were +12 two AS
Four teams were +13, three AS
Four teams were +14
Three teams were +15, two AS
Eight teams were +16, one AS
One AS team was +17
Twelve teams were +18
One AS teams was +19
Thirteen teams were +20, two AS
One team was +21
Fourteen teams were +22
One team was +23
Eight teams were +8, one AS
Eleven teams were +26, one AS
Two teams were +27, one AS
Fourteen teams were +14
Four teams were +29
Fifteen teams were +30
Two teams were +31, one AS
Seventeen teams were +32
One team was +33
Nineteen teams were +34, one AS
One team was +35
Ten teams were +36, two AS
Two teams were +37, one AS
Seven teams were +7
One team was +39
Ten teams were +40
Two teams were +41
Eight teams were +42
Ten teams were +44
Three teams were +45
Four teams were +46
One team was +47
One team was +48
Two teams were +50
Two teams were +52
Four teams were +54
One AS team was +56 (Cleveland 1995)
One team was +66 (the 1998 Yankees)
One team was +70 (the 2001 Mariners)
98.8% of the teams were at least ten games over .500
79.2% were at least 20 games over .500 – and we aren’t to four 8 teams divisions yet.
The average team was 27.2 games over .500.
PARTICIPATION
Arizona Diamondbacks 1999, 2002, 2007 (3 times)
Atlanta Braves 1982, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 (19)
Baltimore Orioles 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1997, 2014 (13)
Boston Red Sox 1967, 1975, 1978, 1986, 1988, 2007, 2013, 2018 (8)
Chicago Cubs 1969, 1984, 1989, 2008, 2016 (5)
Chicago White Sox 1963, 1964, 1972, 1983, 1990, 1991, 2000, 2005 (8)
Cincinnati Reds 1962, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1981 (12)
Cleveland Indians 1995, 1996, 2007, 2016, 2017 (5)
Detroit Tigers 1967, 1968, 1984, 1987 (4)
Houston Astros 1972, 1979, 1980, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 (11)
Kansas City Royals 1976, 1977, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1994, 2015 (7)
Los Angeles Angels 1986, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2014 (6)
Los Angeles Dodgers 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020 (26)
Milwaukee Brewers 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1987, 2011, 2018 (7)
Minnesota Twins 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1991, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2020 (11)
Montreal Expos 1994 (now Washington Nationals – see below)
New York Mets 1969, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2006 (8)
New York Yankees 1962, 1963, 1964, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2019 (19)
Oakland Athletics 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2012, 2013, 2020 (16)
Philadelphia Phillies 1963, 1964, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 (11)
Pittsburgh Pirates 1965, 1966, 1971, 1972, 1979, 1990, 1991, 2015 (8)
St. Louis Cardinals 1964, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1992, 2001, 2005, 2015 (11)
San Diego Padres 2006 (1)
San Francisco Giants 1962, 1971, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2021 (11)
Seattle Mariners 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001 (5)
Tampa Bay Rays 2008, 2010, 2020, 2021 (4)
Texas Rangers 1993, 1998, 1999, 2011, 2016 (5)
Toronto Blue Jays 1985, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2015 (6)
Washington Nationals 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017 (4- 5 with the Expos)
Combining the Montreal Expos and Washington Nationals, that’s 28 of the 30 franchises. Missing are the 1993 expansion teams, the Florida/Miami Marlins and the Colorado Rockies. In real life, the Marlins have won two World Series when they were wild-card teams but not much else. The Rockies made it one World Series – also as a wild card - and got swept by the Red Sox. 27 of the 28 other teams have been to my playoffs at least twice. Twenty-one franchises have been to the playoffs at least 5 times and eleven have been there 10 times.
This system, it seems to me, does a better job of assuring that the sport’s championship is decided in warm or at least decent weather, that the teams competing for it have proven over the long season that they deserve to be there and that there would be at least 1-2 really good pennant races each year that would put baseball in the front page every day in August and September.
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