Amongst the 161 favorable integers that are less than the number 162 is the number 60. This pertains to purposes of This, Our Baseball because the usual MLB regular season spans 162 video games. In 2020, however, the COVID-19 pandemic and the rotating rate of group owners throughout the current settlements with gamers have conspired to offer us a 60-game regular season. Such a drastically smaller sample size of regular season games suggests that weirdness and mayhem in the standings are far more likely. For this, we are grateful.
To provide you a taste of what this might be like, we went back through every season given that 2012– i.e., the age of the second wild card berth in each league– and determined the five worst teams that wouldve remained in playoff position at the 60-game mark throughout one of those seasons. “Worst” is being specified by final record throughout the full 162 games. While its possibly excessive to state that any group can have an excellent encounter 60 games, its extremely not excessive to say that even reasonably poor teams can discover themselves in playoff position after 60 video games. We have proof of that and whatever..
So what follows are the five teams from 2012 through 2019 who remained in the postseason mix after 60 games however wound up south of the border after the complete season was completed. Theyre ranked in ascending order of record since often you just need to do the ideal thing. Feature us, will not you?
1. 2017 Orioles, 75-87.
In addition to ending up the season 12 games under.500, the 2017 Orioles were also outscored by the opposition by 98 work on the year. At the 60-game mark, nevertheless, the Os were at 31-29, which sufficed to tie them with the Indians for the second AL wild card area. That, in turn, wouldve suggested a tiebreaker to identify who advanced to the AL Wild Card Game. The list below year, the Os lost 115 games, which spelled completion for manager Buck Showalter and GM Dan Duquette and began a reconstruct thats still continuous.
2. 2014 Marlins, 77-85.
The 85-loss Marlins in 2014 were a decent 32-28 at the 60-game mark, and that wouldve indicated a tie with the Braves (see listed below) for the NL East title. The loss of young ace Jose Fernandez to Tommy John surgical treatment after just eight starts in essence sank their hopes of contention over the full season.
3. 2019 Rangers, 78-84.
Last years Rangers under novice supervisor Chris Woodward got to 10 games above.500 in late June, and after 60 video games (32-28) they held the 2nd AL wild card spot. The unlikely one-two rotation punch of Mike Minor and Lance Lynn helped Texas attain respectability.
4. 2016 Pirates, 78-83.
After 60 tilts, the 2016 Pirates were 32-28, which wouldve put them in a three-way tie with the Dodgers and Cardinals for the 2nd NL wild card spot. Alas and alack, that 32-28 record marked the point at which the Pirates were two losses into a stretch that saw them drop 13 of 15. Of the regular contributors to that Pirates team, simply two– Jameson Taillon and Gregory Polanco– stay with the club.
5. 2014 Braves, 79-83.
As kept in mind above, the Braves were connected for the NL East lead with the abovementioned Marlins at the 60-game checkpoint. The 96-win Nationals would go on to claim the department, and the Braves after their 32-28 start– built off a 17-8 mark in April– would go on to sign up the first of four straight losing seasons. That came in spite of the existence of the young homegrown core of Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward, Andrelton Simmons, Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, and Craig Kimbrel..
Such a significantly smaller sample size of routine season video games suggests that weirdness and mayhem in the standings are much more most likely. To provide you a taste of what this might be like, we went back through every season since 2012– i.e., the period of the 2nd wild card berth in each league– and determined the five worst groups that wouldve been in playoff position at the 60-game mark throughout one of those seasons. What follows are the five teams from 2012 through 2019 who were in the postseason mix after 60 games however wound up south of the border after the complete season was completed. In addition to finishing the season 12 games under.500, the 2017 Orioles were likewise outscored by the opposition by 98 runs on the year. Anyways, in 8 seasons under the 10-team playoff format, thats seven ultimate losing groups that wouldve been in line to make it (or play a tiebreaker) after 60 games.
The 10-team playoff field is modest enough that we probably will not wind up with a losing team in the postseason, however the sample size is such that we may certainly wind up with a team whose foul-smelling incompetence evades detection across 60 games. Utilize this reality to feel much better about your preferred team, and likewise prepare to use this concept to impugn a group you dislike in the occasion that they make the postseason in 2020. Keep the champagne cold and the powder dry..
Because 2012, simply two other eventually.500 or sub -.500 teams were in playoff position at the 60-game mark– the 2019 Phillies, who went on to end up 81-81, and the 2015 Rays, who wound up 80-82. If the Phils slip into the postseason in 2015, then does Gabe Kapler keep his task? Quite perhaps. Anyways, in 8 seasons under the 10-team playoff format, thats seven ultimate losing teams that wouldve been in line to make it (or play a tiebreaker) after 60 video games. If youre the fan of an appearing non-contender entering into the 2020 season, thats factor for minor optimism..
