Rangers, Astros on Pace for First Losing-Record Division Title in MLB History
The short version
- Rangers and Astros were tied for the AL West lead at 78-79 after Tuesday's games.
- No full-season division champion has ever finished with a losing record.
- Sub-.500 postseason teams only appeared in altered-format years: Milwaukee and Houston in 2020, Kansas City in 1981.
- MLB's 12-team playoff format since 2022 raised the chance of a losing team reaching October.
- Past weak playoff qualifiers like the 1987 Twins and 2006 Cardinals went on to win the World Series.
With Texas and Houston tied at 78-79 atop the AL West, baseball could see a full-season division champion finish below .500 for the first time.
With only days remaining in the regular season, the AL West is threatening a piece of unwanted history. After Tuesday's games, the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros sat knotted atop the division at 78-79, meaning whichever club wins the race could become the first full-season division champion in MLB history to finish with a losing record.
No team has ever reached the postseason below .500, apart from three clubs that qualified during years when the playoff format was temporarily altered. The pandemic-shortened 2020 season sent both Milwaukee (29-31) and Houston (29-31) into the playoffs, and the 1981 Kansas City Royals advanced despite a 50-53 overall mark after topping the AL West in the post-strike second half.
MLB expanded its postseason field to 12 teams in 2022, increasing the odds that a losing club could eventually reach October. Earlier this month, it appeared several American League teams might qualify with losing records, but Cleveland and the Chicago White Sox have both since reached 81 wins, taking that possibility off the table.
The AL West remains the outlier. While the division winner may limp into the playoffs, history shows a weak resume is no barrier to a deep run. The 1973 Mets (82-79) reached Game 7 of the World Series, the 1987 Twins (85-77, minus-20 run differential) won it all, and the 2006 Cardinals (83-78) also claimed a championship after barely holding off a late-season collapse.
