Today’s Sportstat: April 11, 2019
Losing seasons in baseball since 2000
Sometimes losing can become a habit. Case in point: The team with the worst record in baseball through games of April 10 is the Kansas City Royals. They have a 2-9 record, a .182 winning percentage. Since 2000, the Royals have had 14 losing seasons (below .500 winning percentage); that is tied (with the Baltimore Orioles) for the most in the American League. That’s 14 losing seasons over the past 19 years… not a very impressive run, is it?
Over in the National League, we have a similar story. Miami and Colorado are both 3-9, a .250 winning percentage, tied for worst record in the National League in 2019. Over the past 19 seasons (since 2000), the Rockies have had 13 losing seasons; the Marlins have had 14 losing seasons in the last 19 years.
Leading the N.L. with the most losing seasons since 2000 are the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates. They each have had 15 losing seasons since 2000, not only most in the National League, but tied for the most in the majors since the start of the century.
The Reds’ record through games of April 10 this season? They are 3-8, a .273 winning percentage… one of seven MLB teams that have a winning percentage under .300 to this point in the season. The Pirates are off to a good start this season with a 6-4 record.
Here’s a look at the number of losing seasons (under .500) that each MLB team has had since 2000.
15-Cincinnati
15-Pittsburgh
14-Baltimore
14-Kansas City
14-Miami
14-San Diego
13-Colorado
12-Tampa Bay
11-Milwaukee
11-New York Mets
11-Texas
10-Detroit
10-Seattle
9-Chicago Cubs
9-Chicago White Sox
9-Toronto
9-Washington
8-Arizona
8-Cleveland
8-Houston
8-Minnesota
8-Philadelphia
7-Los Angeles Angels
7-Oakland
7-San Francisco
6-Atlanta
3-Boston
2-Los Angeles Dodgers
1-St.Louis
0-New York Yankees
As you notice above, the Yankees have not had a losing record in any season this century. The last losing season they had was in 1992 when they went 76-86; that was the last year of four straight seasons with a losing record before their current streak of 26 winning seasons.
The Cards only losing season since 2000 was in 2007.
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Are we headed for a ‘same-state’ World Series in 2015?
Could we see a Missouri World Series in 2015?
If you opened up this morning’s paper and glanced at the baseball standings, you discovered something very interesting. Did you see that two teams from the same city are leading their divisions (the Yankees and Mets), two teams from the same state are leading their respective divisions (Missouri’s Royals and Cardinals), and while the Dodgers sit atop the N.L. West, their in-state rivals, the Angels, are just a couple games behind the Astros in the A.L. West race?
What does all this mean? Not only could we see a World Series with two teams from the same state, but for the first time in MLB history there could be three pairs of teams from three states winning the six divisions.
In 1994, baseball went to a three-division format in each of the two leagues. Since then, teams from the same state have won a division title in the same year several times. Considering that there are five teams from California, it’s not surprising that several of those pairs have been west coast teams. Here’s a look at the other state pairs that have won divisions title in the same year since 1969 when MLB went from two leagues to two divisions in each league.
(New York) New York Yankees and New York Mets: 2006
(Missouri) Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals: 1985
(Illinois) Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox: 2008
(Ohio) Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds: 1995
(California) Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers (2004, 2008, 2009, 2014)
(California) Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Dodgers (1974, 1988, 2013)
(California) Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants (1971, 1989, 2000, 2003, 2012)
(California) Oakland A’s and San Diego Padres (2006)
(California) Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres (2005)
In addition, there are two pairs from the same state that have never won a division title in the same year: Florida’s Tampa Bay and Miami franchises, and the Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants from California.
There have been 20 times when two teams from the same state (and in many cases, the same city) have faced each other in the World Series. The last time it happened was in 2002 when the San Francisco Giants faced off against the Anaheim Angels. The current 12-year drought of not having two teams from the same state play each other in the World Series is the fourth longest in MLB history. The longest drought was from 1956 to 1974, 17 years.
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Brewers All-Stars: Players with short stints in Milwaukee
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Fans of the Milwaukee Brewers have watched many of their favorite players on the All-Star Game stage since the team came to Milwaukee in 1970. Players like Cecil Cooper, Paul Molitor, Robin Yount and Ryan Braun have made multiple appearances in the mid-season classic over the past 40-plus years.
But there have also been a handful of players who have worn the Brewers uniform who had short careers in Milwaukee; for some, their stay in the Brew City was only one season. But in that season they represented the Brewers in the All-Star Game.
Following is a look at the 10 players who represented the Brewers in the All-Star Game yet played in Milwaukee for only three seasons or less.
Tommy Harper, infielder, 1970 all-star: Harper came to Milwaukee in 1970 as a member of the Seattle Pilots. He played for the Brewers two seasons before he was traded to Boston after the 1971 season. He played 454 games as a Pilot/Brewer hitting .264 with 54 home runs.
Marty Pattin, pitcher, 1971 all-star: Another member of the Seattle Pilot contingent. Won 14 games in each of two seasons in Milwaukee. Pitched in 106 games as Pilot/Brewer compiling a 35-38 record with a 3.82 ERA. Was part of the trade that sent Harper to the Red Sox.
Ellie Rodriguez, catcher, 1972 all-star: Came to the Brewers in a 1971 trade with the Kansas City Royals. Hit .255 in 325 games (three seasons) with the team. Hit .285 in his ’72 all-star season. Traded to the California Angels after the 1973 campaign.
Hank Aaron, designated hitter, 1975 all-star: Made 11 All-Star Game appearances as a Milwaukee Brave. Spent the last two years of his career as a Brewer serving primarily as DH. Hit 22 home runs as a Brewer, retiring after the 1976 season.
Jim Sundberg, catcher, 1984 all-star: Spent only one season with the Brewers, coming to the team in a trade with the Texas Rangers. Made the ’84 all-star team in his only season with Milwaukee. Hit .261 with seven HRs and 43 RBIs. Was traded after the ’84 season to the Royals.
Dave Parker, designated hitter, 1990 all-star: Another one-year stop player with the Brewers. Parker, a mainstay of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1970’s, was signed as a free agent by the Brewers. He hit .289 with 21 homers and 92 RBI in his only season with the club. Was traded to the Angels prior to the start of the 1991 season for Dante Bichette.
Danny Kolb, relief pitcher, 2004 all-star: One of the many short-term relievers that have had success with the Brewers. Pitched in 154 games with the team in three seasons. He had 61 saves and a 3.31 ERA with the team. Had 39 saves in his all-star season. Had two stints with the Brewers, 2003-04 and 2006.
Carlos Lee, outfielder, 2005, 2006 all-star: Played 264 games with the Brewers in two seasons, making the N.L. all-star team as a Brewer both years. Had 60 home runs as a Brewer. Was traded to Texas shortly after the 2006 All-Star Game.
Francisco Cordero, relief pitcher, 2007 all-star: Had 60 saves in two seasons with the Brewers, including 44 in 2007. Left the Brewers after the 2007 season to sign as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds.
Trevor Hoffman, relief pitcher, 2009 all-star: Played two years with the Brewers and then retired after the 2010 season. Signed as a free agent by the club prior to the ’09 season. Had 47 saves with the team, including 37 in 2009.
While the above players may have only had short careers in Milwaukee, here’s a look at the Brewers players who have the most All-Star Game appearances in a Brewers uniform.
All-Star Game appearances (as a Brewer), Players
5: Cecil Cooper, Paul Molitor
4: Ryan Braun, Don Money, Ben Sheets
3: Prince Fielder, Ben Oglivie, Dan Plesac, Robin Yount
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