Today’s Sportstat: May 7, 2020
No baseball in April. These teams can’t be happy!
We have turned the page on the calendar to May and the Major League Baseball standings show every team with a 0-0 record for 2020. While all teams and fans are upset that the season has not yet started, there may be a couple of teams and their fans who are a little bit more upset than the rest.
There are four MLB teams which won 60% or more of their games in the last two Aprils. The Arizona Diamondbacks have enjoyed the most success in the first month of the season over the past two years. They had a combined 37-21 record (.638 winning percentage) in April 2018 and April 2019, the best record in baseball of the 30 teams. The Houston Astros weren’t too far behind with a combined record of 38-22 (.633) in the last two Aprils.
Here is a look at the winning percentage of each of the MLB’s 30 teams in April of the past two seasons.
Arizona, .638… Houston, .633… N.Y. Yankees, .614…St. Louis, .607
Boston, .586… Chicago Cubs, .585… Tampa Bay, .582… N.Y Mets, .582… Seattle, .576… Cleveland, .564… Philadelphia, .561… Milwaukee, .557… Pittsburgh, .536… Atlanta, .536… L.A. Dodgers, .533, Toronto, .526… Minnesota, .510… Anaheim, .500
Colorado, .467… Oakland, .467… San Francisco, .458… San Diego, .450… Detroit, .444… Washington, .439… Texas, .431…Chicago White Sox, .385… Cincinnati, .328… Florida, .316… Baltimore, .310
Kansas City, .281
Things are not looking too promising for baseball’s opening pitch to happen in May either. There’s a good chance the Yankees and their faithful would not be happy if that was the case. The Yanks compiled a 37-15 record, .712 winning percentage in May 2018 and May 2019. Combining their record in April and May over the last two seasons, the Yankees were an impressive 72-37, a .661 winning percentage in the first two months of the last two seasons.
Following are the five teams with the best winning percentages in the last two Mays and the five that had the worst winning percentage in the last two Mays.
Best: N.Y. Yankees, .712… Houston, .643… Milwaukee, .630… L.A. Dodgers, .611… Boston, .607
Worst: Toronto, .286… Baltimore, .309… Arizona, .345… Florida, .389, San Francisco, .396.
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Today’s Sportstat: March 5, 2020
Franchise with the best winning percentage in baseball history
Which baseball franchise is the most successful in history?
It doesn’t take an expert to guess that team is the New York Yankees… and you’d be right. The Yankees have won 40 pennants and 27 World Series.
Based on wins and losses, the Yankees have an overall record of 10,378-7,840 (a .570 winning percentage), which includes games when the franchise was known as the New York Highlanders (from 1903-12).
But here’s a little tougher question. Which franchise is second to the Yankees with the highest winning percentage?
If you guessed the San Francisco Giants franchise, which includes stints as the New York Gothams and New York Giants, you would be correct. The Giants franchise has a .535 winning percentage, good enough for second place on the list.
The worst? The San Diego Padres have the lowest winning percentage of the MLB franchises at .461.
Of the current 30 MLB franchises, 12 have an all-time winning percentage above .500 while the other 18 franchises are below .500.
Here’s a look at the winning percentage of the current 30 MLB franchises.
New York Yankees, .570
San Francisco Giants, .535
Los Angeles Dodgers, .528
St. Louis Cardinals, .520
Boston red Sox, .519
Chicago Cubs, .514
Cleveland Indians, .512
Cincinnati Reds, .505
Detroit Tigers, .504
Pittsburgh Pirates, .503
Chicago White Sox, .502
Atlanta Braves, .501
Los Angeles Angels, .499
Houston Astros, .496
Arizona Diamondbacks, .495
Toronto Blue Jays, .495
Washington Nationals, .489
Oakland A’s, .489
Milwaukee Brewers, .481
Minnesota Twins, .481
New York Mets, .481
Kansas City Royals, .480
Texas Rangers, .478
Baltimore Orioles, .474
Tampa Bay Rays, .473
Philadelphia Phillies, .472
Colorado Rockies, .471
Seattle Mariners, .471
Miami Marlins, .462
San Diego Padres, .461
(Stats cultivated from baseball-reference.com)
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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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Today’s Sportstat: January 24, 2019
Which team will be the winningest MLB team this decade?
Will it be the New York Yankees? The Los Angeles Dodgers? The St. Louis Cardinals? Or could the Boston Red Sox make a run at this title? And, do the Washington nationals have a shot?
This year will be the final year of this decade and that means it’s the final season of the baseball decade. Entering 2019, there are three MLB teams which have won 800 or more games this decade: the Yankees with 818, the Dodgers with 813, and the Cardinals with 808. The Red Sox are a distant fourth on this list with 788 victories since 2010. Washington is fifth on the list with 786 wins.
With a 30-game lead over the Red Sox, the Yankees appear to be a lock for the winningest A.L. team this decade. The N.L., on the other hand, appears to be a two-team race with the Cardinals only five games behind the Dodgers. The Nationals are still in the picture, but trail L.A. by 27 games.
Here’s a look at the number of wins each franchise has this decade. It’s is broken down by each league (current city is listed for each team).
American League
New York Yankees, 818
Boston, 788
Texas, 765
Tampa Bay, 764
Cleveland, 762
Anaheim, 750
Oakland, 742
Detroit, 735
Toronto, 727
Baltimore, 701
Kansas City, 699
Seattle, 690
Chicago White Sox, 671
Minnesota, 664
National League
Los Angeles Dodgers, 813
St. Louis, 808
Washington, 786
Atlanta, 746
San Francisco, 744
Milwaukee, 735
Chicago Cubs, 733
Pittsburgh, 723
Arizona, 708
New York Mets, 707
Philadelphia, 706
Cincinnati, 700
Colorado, 681
San Diego, 669
Florida, 650
The Houston Astros, who spent time in both leagues this century, have 682 wins since 2010. That places them 25th overall.
By the way, how many of you would have thought that the Brewers have more wins this decade than the Cubs?
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Today’s Sports Stat: March 24, 2018
In less than a week the 2018 MLB regular season begins. Getting off to a good start can be very important for teams looking for success; in fact, just playing .500 or above in April is an important key to possibly making a post-season run and even a World Series title. Consider these three stats:
- Of the eight teams that won the World Series since 2010, seven had a winning percentage above .570 in April the year they won the championship.
- Of the 16 teams that won the A.L. or N.L. pennant since 2010, 14 had an April winning percentage above .500 that season.
- Of the 76 teams that made the playoffs since 2010, 56 of them (just under 74%) had an April winning percentage above .500.
Two teams in particular seem to have this April thing figured out, especially this decade. The New York Yankees are the only team of the 30 MLB teams to have a winning percentage above .500 in seven of the eight Aprils since 2010. Their only sub .500 April this decade was an 8-14 record (.364) in 2016.
(Note: For the sake of this article, regular season games played in March are considered April games.)
Over in the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals have been above .500 in six of the eight Aprils since 2010. Even more impressive is that in the two seasons they were not above .500 this decade, 2016 and 2017, they were 12-12, exactly .500 in those two Aprils.
Here’s a look at how many Aprils each of the 30 MLB teams have been above .500 since 2010.
7: Yankees
6: Cardinals
5: Mets, Nationals, Rangers, Rockies, Royals, Tigers
4: Dodgers, Giants, Orioles, Rays, Red Sox
3: Angels, A’s, Braves, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Indians, Phillies, Pirates, Reds
2: Astros, Brewers, Marlins, Twins, White Sox
1: Blue Jays, Mariners, Padres
For the record, the Yankees have the best April record over the past eight seasons. They were 110-77 (.588) from 2010-17. They are followed by the Cardinals at 114-82 (.582) and the Nationals at 111-86 (.563).
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