Among the 161 positive integers that are less than 162, the number is 60. This is relevant for the purposes of This, Our Baseball, as the usual MLB regular season includes 162 games. In 2020, however, the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid pace of team owners merged into a regular 60-game season during recent negotiations with players. Such a drastically smaller sample size for regular season games means that craziness and chaos are much more likely in the overall ranking. We are grateful for that.
To give you an idea of what this might look like, we’ve been going through every season since 2012 – that is, the second placeholder era in each league – and identified the five worst teams that would have been in the playoffs position at the 60 games -Brand during one of these seasons. “Worst” is defined by the final record of all 162 games. While it may be too much to say any The team can have a good run in 60 games. It’s definitely not too much to say that even reasonably lousy teams can be in the playoffs after 60 games. We have evidence of this and everything.
What follows are the five teams from 2012 to 2019 that were in the postseason after 60 games, but ended up south of the border after the season was over. They are listed in ascending order because sometimes you just have to do the right thing. Come with us, don’t you?
1. 2017 Orioles, 75-87
In addition to completing the season’s 12 games under .500, the 2017 Orioles were also surpassed by the opposition by 98 runs a year. At the 60-game brand, however, the O’s were between 31 and 29, and that was enough to tie them up with the Indians for the second AL wildcard spot. That would have meant a tiebreaker to determine who went to the AL Wild Card Game. The following year the O’s lost 115 games, which meant the end for managers Buck Showalter and GM Dan Duquette and started a remodeling that is still ongoing.
2. 2014 Marlins, 77-85
The Marlins with 85 losses in 2014 were a respectable 32-28 in 60 games, and that would have meant a tie with the Braves (see below) for the NL East title. The tiebreaker’s loser would have taken the first placeholder. Giancarlo Stanton finished second in the NL MVP vote this year, and young outfielder Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna also had productive turns. The loss of young ace Jose Fernandez to Tommy John’s surgery after just eight starts lowered her hopes of an all-season competition. The Marlins finally dropped below 0.500 at the end of June and have suffered 10 consecutive losses in this letter.
3rd 2019 Rangers, 78-84
Last year’s rangers under rookie manager Chris Woodward reached 10 games over 0.500 at the end of June and after 60 games (32-28) came second on the AL wildcard. However, the wheels quickly came loose with an 8th-16th July. The unlikely double strike of Mike Minor and Lance Lynn made Texas famous. Your new baseball field looks like God’s wavy lawn mower shed.
4th 2016 Pirates, 78-83
After 60 inclinations, the pirates were between 32 and 28 in 2016, which would have put them in a three-way relationship with the Dodgers and Cardinals for the second NL wildcard slot. This means that for the first time in franchise history, they had four consecutive appearances after the season. Unfortunately and unfortunately, this 32-28 record marked the point at which the pirates suffered two defeats on a route where they had lost 13 out of 15. This track effectively wiped out hopes for this fourth consecutive playoff spot. Of the regular employees of this pirate team, only two – Jameson Taillon and Gregory Polanco – remain in the club. Unfortunately for Buccos believers, Bob Nutting also stays in the club.
5. 2014 Braves, 79-83
As mentioned above, the Braves were tied with the above marlins at the 60 game checkpoint for the tour in NL East. The 96-win nationals would continue to claim the division, and the Braves would post the first of four consecutive losses after their 32:28 start – which was expanded by a 17-8 mark in April. This happened despite the presence of the young, native core of Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward, Andrelton Simmons, Julio Teheran, Alex Wood and Craig Kimbrel.
Since 2012, only two other teams with 500 or fewer than 500 players have been in the playoffs at the 60-game mark – the 2019 Phillies that ended 81-81 and the 2015 Rays that ended 80-. 82. If the Phils sneak into the postseason last year, will Gabe Kapler keep his job? Possibly. However, in eight seasons in 10-team playoff format, there are seven possible losing teams that would have been in line after 60 games to make it (or play a tie-breaker). If you’re a fan of an apparent non-competitor entering the 2020 season, this is a reason for slight optimism.
The 10 team playoff field is modest enough that we are unlikely to end up with a lost team in the postseason, but the sample size is such that we could actually end up with a team whose foul-smelling incompetence escapes detection in 60 games. Use this reality to feel better about your favorite team and prepare to apply this principle to a team you don’t like in case it does the post season in 2020 to disturb. Keep the champagne cold and the powder dry.
