Winning a division
The Cardinals are on pace to do something historic and very impressive.
With 40 games left in the regular season, they are 28-32 against the Central division. Obviously not an impressive mark.
This got me thinking.... Has any team ever won a division without actually winning in their division? So I looked it up going back to 1995, the first full season since divisional play.
Only one team has ever pulled off this feat: The 1996 Seattle Mariners. They went 18-21 against the West that year but still won the division. Of course, in 1996, they didn't have the weighted schedules where Seattle had to play half their games against their division.
Two other teams have only finished .500, the 1999 Houston Astros, who were 31-31 vs. the Central, and the 2000 Mariners, who finished 19-19 against the West.
Now, with 40 games left and Cincy on their heels at 2.5 out, it does seem somewhat unlikely that the Cardinals can pull this off. Should they not start winning a little more regularly, they'll likely lose the division to the Reds. Should they start winning more regularly, they'll probably end up at least .500 against the Central.
Of their 40 games, 21 are against the Central, so concluding the season 13-8 vs. the Central is what is necessary to draw the Cardinals 1 game over .500 against the Central.
Will they do it? Will they make history as only the 2nd team since divisional play to win a division despite not being able to win in their division?
With 40 games left in the regular season, they are 28-32 against the Central division. Obviously not an impressive mark.
This got me thinking.... Has any team ever won a division without actually winning in their division? So I looked it up going back to 1995, the first full season since divisional play.
Only one team has ever pulled off this feat: The 1996 Seattle Mariners. They went 18-21 against the West that year but still won the division. Of course, in 1996, they didn't have the weighted schedules where Seattle had to play half their games against their division.
Two other teams have only finished .500, the 1999 Houston Astros, who were 31-31 vs. the Central, and the 2000 Mariners, who finished 19-19 against the West.
Now, with 40 games left and Cincy on their heels at 2.5 out, it does seem somewhat unlikely that the Cardinals can pull this off. Should they not start winning a little more regularly, they'll likely lose the division to the Reds. Should they start winning more regularly, they'll probably end up at least .500 against the Central.
Of their 40 games, 21 are against the Central, so concluding the season 13-8 vs. the Central is what is necessary to draw the Cardinals 1 game over .500 against the Central.
Will they do it? Will they make history as only the 2nd team since divisional play to win a division despite not being able to win in their division?
posted by Matt at 10:45 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home