As we wind down another major league baseball season, there are plenty of familiar faces in the playoff picture. The Boston Red Sox returned to the playoffs for the 6th time in 7 years. The Phillies are in for the third straight year. The Yankees returned to the playoffs after appearing for 13 straight years from 1995-2007, and the Cardinals returned after appearing of 6 of the previous 9. 6th playoffs in 8 years for the Angels, 5th of the last 8 for the Twins, and 4th of the last 6 for the Dodgers. Even the Rockies were in the World Series two years ago.
So, while there are plenty of story lines for the playoffs, there are some important (and interesting) accomplishments to recognize from the teams that didn't make the cut.
Let's start with a bizarre one: Which team would you expect has the longest streak of years without finishing in last place in their division?
Could it be the Braves, who won the NL East every year from 1991-2005? Close, but nope.
Yankees? Good guess, but their last place finish in 1990 puts them in a tie with the Braves.
The winner? The kings of mediocrity, the Cincinnati Reds. As bad as they have been, the Big Red Machine hasn't been a cellar dwellar since 1983! They can credit a number of horrendous years from the likes of the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates, as well as a few Brewers collapses, for keeping the streak alive.
Most recent last place finishes:
30. Dbacks - 2009
29. Nationals/Expos - 2009
28. Pirates - 2009
27. A's - 2009
26. Royals (tie) - 2009 (2007 before that)
25. Indians (tie) - 2009 (1991 before that)
24. Orioles - 2009
23. Mariners - 2008
22. Tigers - 2008
21. Padres - 2008
20. Giants - 2007
19. Marlins - 2007
18. Rays - 2007
17. Rangers - 2007
16. Cubs - 2006
15. Rockies (tie) - 2006 (2001 before that)
14. Brewers - 2004
13. Blue Jays - 2004
12. Mets - 2003
11. Phillies - 2000
10. Twins - 2000
9. Angels - 1999
8. Red Sox - 1992
7. Dodgers - 1992
6. Astros - 1991
5. Yankees - 1990
4. Braves - 1990
3. Cardinals - 1990
2. White Sox - 1989
1. Reds - 1983
