Making the World Series after three sub .500 seasons… and more!
Although the New York Mets are down two games to none in the World Series, the team has already accomplished a lot just by getting into this post-season. Not many pundits had the Mets making the playoffs, let alone make it to the World Series.
To help quantify the above statements, let’s look at two stats.
- The Mets are one of 12 teams in MLB history to have made the World Series after three or more seasons with a sub .500 record. After a .548 winning percentage in 2008 (89-73 record), the Mets went six seasons with a winning percentage under .500 for six straight years before going 90-72 and making it to the World Series this season. The 2006 Detroit Tigers hold the record for most sub. 500 season before making the World Series with 12. Here’s a look at those 12 teams that had three or more seasons under .500 before making the World Series.
Years under .500 before making World Series
12: 2006 Detroit Tigers
11: 1914 Boston Braves
10: 2008 Tampa Bay Rays
7: 1991 Atlanta Braves; 1967 Boston Red Sox; 1969 New York Mets
6: 2015 New York Mets; 1993 Philadelphia Phillies
5: 1945 Chicago Cubs; 2003 Florida Marlins
3: 1918 Chicago Cubs; 2002 Anaheim Angels
- If the Mets should rebound from their 2-0 deficit and win the 2015 World Series, they would become the 11th team in MLB history (since 1969) to win a World Series after not making the playoffs in four or more of their previous seasons. The Minnesota Twins top this category; they won the 1987 World Series after missing the post-season in the 16 previous seasons. Had they made it to the World Series this year and won the title, the Toronto Blue Jays could have broken this record. The Blue Jays had gone 21 seasons prior to this year without making the playoffs. Here’s a look at the 10 teams that had four or more seasons not making the playoffs the years prior to winning the World Series. (Note: Does not include teams that won the World Series prior to 1969 when only two teams made it to the World Series each year.)
Consecutive years not making the post-season prior to winning the World Series (since 1969)
16: 1987 Minnesota Twins
15: 2002 Los Angeles Angels
13: 1982 St. Louis Cardinals
12: 1986 New York Mets
11: 1984 Detroit Tigers
10: 1970 Cincinnati Reds
7: 1969 New York Mets
5: 2003 Florida Marlins
4: 2005 Chicago White Sox; 1997 Florida Marlins
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Six Stats you might not know about… Ryan Tannehill’s record-tying game
Miami Dolphins’ QB Ryan Tannehill is typically not included in the list of today’s top quarterbacks. Last Sunday, however, Tannehill wrote his name in the record book with some elite QB’s with a performance that led the Dolphins to a 44-26 win over Houston.
Here’s a few stats from that game that you may not know about Tannehill’s eye-opening numbers. He was 18-for-19 for 282 yards, four TD passes, and a perfect 158.3 Quarterback Rating (QBR).
- For QBs with a minimum of 15 passes attempted (going back to 1960), Tannehill joined current Kansas City Chiefs QB Alex Smith with a pass completion percentage of 94.7, the best in NFL history. Kurt Warner is the only QB since 1960 to have a 100% completion rate in a game with the minimum of 10 pass attempts. He did it in December, 2005 as a member of the Arizona Cardinals in a 30-19 loss to Houston.
- Tannehill became the 13th QB since 1960 to have a 90% completion rate in a game (min. 15 pass attempts). The last QB was Tony Romo in 2014 when he was 18-for-20 (90%) in a game. Steve Young is the only QB to complete 90% of his passes in a game twice in his career (since 1960 with 15 pass attempts).
- Tannehill became only the second QB in history to have four TD passes, over 250 yards passing, and a pass completion rate of 90% or better in a game. Craig Morton did it in 1981 as a member of the Denver Broncos. He was 17-for-18 with 308 yards passing and four TD passes.
- Tannehill became the 35th QB since 1960 to have a perfect 158. 3 QBR in a game. Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner each did it three times in their careers; Tom Brady, Craig Morton and Ben Roethlisberger did it twice. Teams with quarterbacks who had a 158.3 QBR in a game (since 1960 with a minimum of 15 pass attempts) are 41-1 in those games.
- Tannehill became the first Miami QB to have a perfect 158.3 QBR in a game. Jay Fielder did have the highest QBR in Dolphins history at 156; he did it in a game in November 2003.
- Of all QBs who have completed 90% of their passes in a game, Tannehill has the second most yards passing with 282.
Follow Jerry on Twitter @StatsonTapp.
Jerry Tapp is the author of the recently-published book, “250 Stats Every Packers Fan Needs to Know”
NBA players with 600+ rebounds and less than 500 points in a season
Joakim Noah
Major League Baseball has the designated hitter; the NFL has placekickers and punters. In the NBA, there are defensive specialists and players who are inserted into the game are certain times to fulfill a role. Let’s focus on one of those roles: the “designated rebounder.”
Last season Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls came the closest to this title when he had a season with 646 rebounds and 485 points, the only player in the league with 600+ rebounds and less than 500 points in the 2014-15 season. He became the 28th player in NBA history to have at least one season with these numbers.
When we look at the other players who reached these numbers, the title of “designated rebounder” would probably most fit former player Dennis Rodman, a Hall of Famer. He had six seasons with these numbers, more than twice the number of any other player in the league:
Most seasons with 600-plus rebounds and less than 500 points
6: Dennis Rodman
3: Chris Dudley, Reggie Evans, Jeff Foster, George Johnson, Ben Wallace
Rodman is also the only player in league history to have over 1,000 rebounds in a season with less than 500 points. He did three times with three different teams: 1992-93 with Detroit (1132 rebounds, 468 points), 1993-94 with San Antonio (1367 rebounds and 370 points) and 1997-98 with the Chicago (1201 rebounds and 375 points).
Last season was the third straight year that a player reached these numbers; Golden State’s Andrew Bogut did in 2013-14 and Reggie Evans did it with the Brooklyn Nets in 2012-13.
Let’s take a look at one other stat: 600 or more assists and less than 500 points. Those numbers have been reached only one time in NBA history. In 1988-89, Charlotte’s Mugsy Bogues had 620 assists and 423 points, the only time in league history that a player had 600-plus assists and less than 500 points in a season.
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Last time MLB teams had three sub .500 seasons in a row
The Houston Astros were one of the surprise teams in the majors this year. They finished with an 86-76 record (.531), their first season above .500 in the past seven seasons, and made the playoffs. Houston’s successful season now gives the active “seasons under .500” title to the Miami Marlins; they have the longest current streak of sub .500 seasons with six.
Here’s a look at each MLB team and the last time they had three straight seasons under .500.
Los Angeles Dodgers, 1936-38 (as the Brooklyn Dodgers)
St. Louis Cardinals, 1954-56
Boston, 1992-94 (last two seasons under .500)
Los Angeles Angels, 1992-94
Atlanta, 1988-90 (last two seasons under .500)
New York Yankees, 1990-92
Milwaukee, 2002-04
Detroit, 2003-05
Arizona, 2004-06 (last two seasons under .500)
Tampa Bay, 2005-07
San Francisco, 2006-08
Texas, 2006-08
Cincinnati, 2007-09 (last two seasons under .500)
Oakland, 2007-09
Baltimore, 2009-11
Toronto, 2009-11
Washington, 2009-11
Cleveland, 2010-12
Kansas City, 2010-12
Pittsburgh, 2010-12
Seattle, 2011-13
Chicago Cubs, 2012-14
Houston, 2012-14
Minnesota, 2012-14
New York Mets, 2012-14
Chicago White Sox, 2013-15 (last three seasons under .500
Philadelphia, 2013-15 (last three seasons under .500)
Colorado, 2013-15 (last five seasons under .500)
San Diego, 2013-15 (last five season under .500)
Miami, 2013-15 (last six seasons under .500)
Notes:
- The last time the Dodgers had back-to-back sub-.500 seasons was in 1986 and 1987.
- The Yankees have a active streak of 23 straight seasons above .500.
- The Cardinals have been above .500 in 15 of the last 16 seasons. The last time they had back-to-back seasons under .500 were in 1994 and 1995.
- Three of the 10 teams that made the playoffs this season had five or more season of sub .500 ball prior to this year. The Astros, as previously mentioned, had six straight seasons under .500 before 2015, while the Mets and Cubs both had five seasons consecutive seasons under .500 prior to this year.
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Packers Numbers Crunches: Week #6
Following are some stats you may not know from the Packers 27-20 win over the San Diego Chargers. All stats are from the regular season unless otherwise noted.
- The Packers are now 7-1 in their last eight home games versus AFC West teams. The last loss to an AFC West team at Lambeau was on October 12, 2003 when Green Bay lost 40-34 in overtime to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers are 12-2 in their last 14 games against AFC West foes.
- Green Bay is now 10-1 all-time against the Chargers, a .909 winning percentage. That winning percentage is the Pack’s best versus all NFL teams. The next best is a 4-1 record (.800 winning percentage) against the Baltimore Ravens. San Diego’s 1-10 (.091) record versus the Packers is their worst against any team. The Chargers next worst record against an opponent is 1-8 versus the Atlanta Falcons.
- The Packers are 10-5 in their last 15 games when the game is an afternoon start (3pm to 4pm CST kickoff). They have now won seven straight games that start in that time.
- James Starks became the 22nd Green Bay player since 1966 (Super Bowl era) to have a rushing and pass receiving TD in the same game. Eddie Lacy had three such games last season. Ahman Green tops the franchise list with nine such games since 1966.
- Starks 65-yard run for TD in the first quarter was the 19th longest rushing TD in Packers history and the 11th longest rushing TD from scrimmage at Lambeau. Ahman Green has the team record with a 98-yard TD run. Starks became the second oldest Packer to score on a TD run of 65 yards or more. Green was 13 days older when he ran for a 70-yard TD run on October 22, 2006.
- The Pack had the lead after the end of the first quarter and have now won 15 straight (11 straight at Lambeau) when they lead after the first quarter. They also had the lead at halftime and have now won 17 straight when they are ahead at halftime.
- San Diego’s Keenan Allen had 14 catches for 157 yards. He became the fourth receiver to have 14 or more catches in a game versus the Packers. The last receiver to have 14-plus receptions in a game against Green Bay was Buffalo’s Andre Reed in 1994 when he had 15 catches.
- Chargers’ QB Philip Rivers became the 13th opposing QB to pass for over 400 yards in a game versus the Packers (he had 503 yards passing). The Packers are now 7-7 in games where the opposing QB has 400-plus yards passing. Note: Drew Brees had two games with 400-plus yards passing against Green Bay.
- Rivers became the first opposing QB to complete 40 passes against the Packers in a game. He also became the third QB to attempt 60 or more passes in a game (Rivers attempted 65 passes) against the Packers (Miami’s Joey Harrington had 62 attempts in a 2006 game; the 49ers Steve Young had 65 attempts in a 1996 contest). The Packers have won all three of the games where the opposing QB attempted 60-plus passes.
- Starks had his third 100-yard rushing game in his career (he carried the ball 10 times for 112 yards). It was the eighth time in Packers history that a player had over 100 yards rushing with 10 or fewer attempts. At age 29 and 235 days, Starks became the ninth oldest Green Bay Packers player to rush for over 100 yards in a game. The last Green Bay player 29 years of age or older to gain 100 yards rushing in a game was Ahman Green on December 13, 2006 at age 29-290 days.
- This was the 15th game in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) that a Packers defense allowed 500 or more total yards in a game. With the win yesterday, the Pack is now 4-11 in those games, although they are 3-3 in such games at home. It’s interesting to note that although they gave up 500-plus yards to the Chargers, the 20 points scored by San Diego is the fewest of any team that gained 500 or more total yards in a game against the Packers.
- Yesterday was the 30th game since 2010 that Green Bay scored in each of the four quarters. They are now 27-3 in those games and have won 11 straight when they score in each of the four quarters.
- The Packers had only 22 minutes of possession in the game. It was only the second win (in 23 games) since 1966 when they had 22 or fewer minutes of possession in a game. The other win was a 48-47 win over the Redskins in 1983 on Monday Night Football.
Bonus stat: The Packers get a bye next week, Week #7 of the season. When they Packers have had a bye on Weeks #3-#6 in a season, they are 4-5 in the next game. When they have a bye on Weeks #7-#10 in a season, they are 13-4 in the game following that bye.
(Jerry Tapp is the author of the recently-published book, “250 Stats Every Packers Fan Needs to Know”)
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