On the Difficulties of Baseball, Winning, and Being a Fan

You'll have to excuse me if anything I say in this introduction sounds off, but I have written this out of order. First, I wanted to do the research and get to the heart of the research, and then I wanted to write an introduction. I wanted the answer before I could give a reason as to why I was even asking the question. If you end up reading this whole fanpost, you'll understand why my fingers and my mind are a little tired right now.

And it all started with a stupid, stupid rumor.

Like all rumors these days, it had to do with Prince Fielder. At this point, I want to be done with it. I probably even told myself, "I'm f@#$ing done with you Prince and Scott Boras and rumors..." but that doesn't mean I can help myself when I hear about a new rumor. I can't help but speculate and wonder and take it with a grain of reality. This particular rumor had to do with Prince and the Rangers.

What the hell?

I was mad (I've since calmed down, not that I was steaming mad or anything, but more like "Oh, commmee onnn..." as if things couldn't get any worse in terms of how our divisional opponents are doing this off-season) and frustrated. I still am frustrated, because it's been a long time that I've been frustrated with baseball. Not the game, but the business.

Recently, the owners and players worked out a new deal and while the NBA and the NFL had well-publicized negotiations, the MLB was like "We cool?" and the players were like "Yeah, we cool." and they worked out a couple of things and they were done with it. That's great news, because the strike in 1994 and the cancellation of the World Series was a terrible mark on the history of the game that in ways it is still recovering from.

They'll never be able to undo 1994. They'll never be able to say "Sorry" to the city of Montreal and make up for prematurely ending a season in which the Expos were the best team (at the time) in the National League. The only thing they could do was to make sure it never happened again.

So, this news was no-news and there would be no work stoppage. I mean, if I'm being 100% honest, I don't know much about the new deals because they were such a non-story. That's great.

What's not great? The incredibly flawed system that keeps teams in the cellars for decades. CBA stands for Collective Bargaining Agreement, but I want to know when we are going to get a Competitive Balance Agreement. It's not just the Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals, or Kansas City Royals that find themselves in a bad position year-in-year-out, but any system that somehow sets up a team for repetitive failure is clearly flawed.

Now, I'm not putting this entirely on baseball. The Royals, Mariners, Pirates... these are teams that have flaws or have had in-house flaws for years that keep them from improving as well. It's just so hard to correct those flaws and it can take years to do so. Correcting Bill Bavasi is taking the Mariners forever because of how long it takes to rebuild a team, when you consider things like: guaranteed contracts, the lack of a salary cap, and the ability of an owner to hand out a blank check.

Every professional sport has it's business flaws, but how long is it going to take for us to realize that the NFL is the closest to being right? Maybe that's my biased opinion, but turning a franchise around seems to be a lot easier to do in football than it is in baseball.

There are a lot of reasons for that. Some of them could never be changed with a CBA, such as how long it takes for a baseball player to be good compared to how long it takes a football player... football players peak sooner and decline sooner. Because of non-guaranteed contracts, you're only responsible for bonuses, guaranteed money, and salary while you decide to employ them.

In baseball, once you're in, you're in. There are few ways for a team to get out of a contract, and so the players benefit no matter how they perform. We've seen this negatively effect Prince Fielder during the off-season as well, so why hasn't there been a bigger push for a change? Well... somebody is going to give Fielder a guaranteed contract of nine figures eventually... I really hope it's not the Texas Rangers, honestly. (Okay, that could reap some benefits to Seattle, but not in the next 3-4 years, in my opinion.)

What follows is my research into the lack of a competitive balance or the inability for certain teams to climb out of the cellar.

I looked at the franchise history of all 30 teams and found out a few things:

-How many seasons have they been a franchise?

-How many times have they been to the playoffs?

-How many World Series have they been to/won?

-How often do they go to the playoffs?

What I found was pretty interesting to me. I saw some facts that really shocked me, while others just hammered home my initial feelings.

I'm a bit of a wanna-be baseball historian. I once bought a book that was the complete, chronological history of baseball that went from the beginning of the National League to about 2003 (I wanna say?) It might be this book, but I'll have to check the publisher when I get home. I read it from cover-to-cover, and it honestly is about complete a history as you're going to get, giving you year-by-year information on the records, the players, the seasons, and the World Series. I liked it so much that I once asked for a newer edition of the book for Christmas, even though it only included like three extra seasons.

So, when I do research like what you'll find below.. when I decide to write 5000 words on a subject that is really just regurgitation of easily-found facts and figures, I do it for myself. But I want to share it with you, just in case someone else is as crazy as I am. I'm trying to make a one-stop shop of these numbers and figures as they stand today.

If you find any factual errors, please just let me know and I'll fix that right up. It's not only possible that I made a mistake, it absolutely had to have happened once or twice...

Without further ado... here is a lot of information.

I want to quickly examine each team and determine how often they make the playoffs, make the World Series, how long their current drought is. Here is the abridged playoff history of every team in major league baseball:

The Toronto Blue Jays

Seasons: 35

Last playoff appearance: 1993

Playoff Appearances: 5

World Series: 2 (2 wins)

Percentage of playoff appearances to years of existence: 14.3%

Other: The Jays unfortunate story resides in the Yankees-Red Sox AL East battle. They have only finished higher than third place once since winning back-to-back World Series in the early 90s, despite finishing .500 or better nine times. Since 1998, the Jays have a record of 1143-1124, but the closest they've been to first place in the AL East is second place and 10 games back of the Yankees in 2006.

The Baltimore Orioles

Seasons: 111. (1901 in Milwaukee. 1902-1953 in St. Louis. 1954-present in Baltimore.)

Last Playoff Appearance: 1997

Playoff Appearances: 11

World Series: 7 (3 wins)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 10% overall, 17.2% in Baltimore.

Other: Same as the Jays in terms of problems in the AL East. Between 1966-1983, the O's were a powerhouse, having won three World Series and making six appearances with guys like Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer, and finally a young Cal Ripken Jr. in 1983. However, since then, they've been to the playoffs twice (even though they added the Wild Card) losing in the ALCS in 1996 and 1997 without even getting to a game 7. They haven't been .500 since.

The Tampa Bay Rays

Seasons: 14

Last Playoff Appearance: 2011

Playoff Appearances: 3

Worlds Series: 1

Percentage of playoff appearances: 21%.

Other: What a difference a good run makes. From 1998-2007, the Rays finished in last place all but one season. Since then, they've won two division titles, made the Series in 2008, and have defied the odds the last two years to raise their % to 21. They made a movie about the A's, which helped build the small-market model we see today, but the Rays are an even more incredible story. While the Rangers seem to have changed their financial model in recent years to become a powerhouse, that seems unlikely for Tampa. Will they always be behind the 8-ball? How long can they keep this up?

The New York Yankees

Seasons: 111

Last Playoff Appearance: 2011

Playoff Appearances: 50

World Series: 40 (27 Championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances to seasons: 45%

Other: Oh, how close the Baltimore Orioles were to being a dynasty. That's what the Yankees were called for the first two years of their existence before moving to New York and re-naming to the Highlanders. There can only be one... Yankees franchise though. Honestly... my brain can't even compute runs like the Yankees had between 1923 and 1962, when they won 20 World Series. That's a championship every other year. During that particular 40-season span, they also lost the World Series five times... and four of those times they lost in seven games.

Since returning from the strike in 1995, the Yankees have missed the playoffs just one time. They have made the World Series seven times during those 17 seasons and won five championships.

The Boston Red Sox

Seasons: 111

Last Playoff Appearance: 2009

Playoff Appearances: 20

World Series: 11 (7 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 18%

Other: The Red Sox won five championships during baseball's early years. We're all familiar with their drought over the next 80-whatever years. Boston has the most similar payroll budget to the Yankees, but just like in dating, there's something to be said about having both money and experience. Boston has missed the playoffs two years in a row, but they have won two World Series since playoff expansion. They have made the playoffs in 9 out of the 17 Wild Card years.

The Detroit Tigers

Seasons: 111

Last Playoff Appearance: 2011

Playoff Appearances: 13

World Series: 10 (4 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 12%

Other: The Tigers have felt like a competitive team recently after a long drought of being terrible, but have only made the playoffs twice since 1987 (2006, 2011.) They lost the WS in 2006 and lost the ALCS this season. Their last championship was in 1984 and the other three championships were 1968, 1945, and 1935.

The Cleveland Indians

Seasons: 111

Last Playoff Appearance: 2007

Playoff Appearances: 10

World Series: 5 (2 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 9%

Other: While it seems like a lot of the old school, original clubs got most of their wins out of the way before playoff expansions, Cleveland has made most of their playoff appearances in the Wild Card era. They have made the playoffs seven times since 1995, going to the Series in '95 and '97 and losing both times. They have made the playoffs just once since 2001. Between 1901-1993, they made the World Series/playoffs just three times and won twice, last championship being in 1948.

The Chicago White Sox

Seasons: 111

Last Playoff Appearance: 2008

Playoff Appearances: 9

World Series: 5 (3 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 8%

Other: The other Sox won the championship in 2005, their first since 1917. In the Wild Card era, they've made the playoffs three times. Unlike most teams, the White Sox have never had a run where they were good for awhile and then dropped off... they have never once made the playoffs in consecutive seasons.

The Kansas City Royals

Seasons: 43

Last Playoff Appearance: 1985

Playoff Appearances: 7

World Series: 2 (1 championship)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 16%

Other: Kansas City is in the most major of funks, having not made the playoffs since they won the World Series behind George Brett in '85. They made the playoffs seven times over a ten year span, and that's their only playoff experience. They have had one winning season in the Wild Card era, and their highest finish in the division was 2nd, when they went 70-74 in 1995.

The Minnesota Twins

Seasons: 111 (Moved from Washington to Minnesota in 1961, giving them 51 seasons as the Twins)

Last Playoff Appearance: 2010

Playoff Appearances: 14 (11 as the Twins)

World Series: 6 (3 as the Twins, with 2 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 12.6% as a franchise, 21.5% as the Twins

Other: The Twins were pretty successful soon after moving to Minnesota, losing a heart-breaking seven-game World Series to the Dodgers (Sandy Koufax pitched a complete game, 3-hit shutout in game 7) only five years after leaving Washington. They made the most out of their opportunities, having only made the playoffs twice between 1971 and 2001, they won World Series titles in each of those seasons. The Twins have made the playoffs in six of the last nine seasons, however over their last five trips to the postseason, they are 2-15.

The Texas Rangers

Seasons: 51 (The first 11 as the Washington Senators)

Last Playoff Appearance: 2011

Playoff Appearances: 5

World Series: 2 (0 titles)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 10% total, 12.5% as the Texas Rangers

Other: What a perfect transition. When the Senators moved from Washington to Minnesota, baseball expanded and put a team in... Washington and named them the Senators. That team moved to Texas in 1972, having never made the playoffs. The franchise made their first playoff appearance in 1996, and as we know, have lost the last two World Series. Poor Washington baseball fans... their first team (1901-1960) made three World Series and won one in 1924 behind Walter Johnson. Their second incarnation (1961-1971) never made the playoffs. And now they've got the Nationals. Hey, at least you've got Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon! That's exciting stuff!

All five of the Rangers playoff appearances have come in the Wild Card era.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Seasons: 51

Last Playoff Appearance: 2009

Playoff Appearances: 9

World Series: 1 (1 championship)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 17.6%

Other: So, as dominant as the Angels seem to feel now, they've made the World Series fewer times than the Rangers have now. Their win in 2002 did seem to change the attitude of the team and they won the division five times over a six year span. However, they made the playoffs only three times during their first 41 years.

The Oakland Athletics

Seasons: 111 (1901-1954 in Philadelphia. 1955-1967 in Kansas City. 1968-Present in Oakland. Near Future-Future, somewhere else probably.)

Last Playoff Appearance: 2006

Playoff Appearances: 23 (8 in Philly. 0 in Kansas City. 15 in Oakland)

World Series: 14 (9 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 20.7% as a franchise. 34% in Oakland.

Other: The Philadelphia Athletics went to the World Series eight times between 1905 and 1931 and won the championship five times, making Connie Mack potentially the greatest manager of all time. (Potentially. The fact that he managed one team for 50 years still blows my mind.) However, Philadelphia struggled for a couple of decades and moved to KC. Their highest finish was 6th, and they spent most of the time in dead last and moved to Oakland in 1969. That's when everything changed for the franchise with players like Reggie Jackson and Vida Blue. They won three straight titles from 1972-1974. They won another in 1989 (sandwiched by two World Series losses.) Things looked up for Oakland in the early 2000's with Jason Giambi and then Moneyball, but they haven't won a game past the ALDS in the Wild Card era. (They lost four straight game fives between 2000-2003.) The last time they won a game in the ALCS was 1992.

The Seattle Mariners

Seasons: 35

Last Playoff Appearance: 2001

Playoff Appearances: 4

World Series: 0

Percentage of playoff appearances: 11.7%

Other: Considering I'm now at the Mariners, I now don't know if I should talk more about them because they're the M's or less because we all know the story. All four playoff appearances came during a seven year span of our 35-year history. Seattle has made the ALCS three times, but never even came to within one win of a World Series, losing in six games twice and in five games in 2001. Seattle has finished in last place in six of the last eight seasons.

National League

The Philadelphia Phillies

Seasons: 129

Last Playoff Appearance: 2011

Playoff Appearances: 14

World Series: 7 (2 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 10.8%

Other: So, the National League is older than the American League, skewing these numbers differently a bit but holy shit do you want to see a drought? Red Sox fans complained for years because they hadn't won a World Series since 1918, but they had made appearances and blown it. The Phillies (originally the Quakers) went from 1883-1975 with two World Series appearances and 0 wins. They even had only won a single World Series game during a 93-season span. Things finally got better with Mike Schmidt and they started going to the playoffs in 1976, winning a title in 1980. In the Wild Card era, Philly hadn't made the playoffs until 2007, but they've gone every season since, winning the title in 2008.

The Atlanta Braves

Seasons: 136 (7 as the Boston Red Stockings, 24 as the Boston Beaneaters, 4 as the Boston Doves, 1 as the Boston Rustlers, 24 as the Boston Braves, then 5 as the Boston Bees, then 12 as the Boston Braves again, then 13 as the Milwaukee Braves, then maybe a couple as MilwaukeeBostonMettaWorldPeace, until they finally became the Atlanta Braves in 1966. Breathe.) 46 seasons as the Atlanta Braves.

Last Playoff Appearance: 2010

Playoff Appearances: 21

World Series: 9 (3 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 15.4% as a franchise. 37% in Atlanta. 14 straight at that one point.

Other: Oh, the poor Atlanta Braves. Looking at their B-R franchise index makes me miss the show Lost. They went 1-4 in the World Series during that stretch run, and haven't been back since 1999. They have won just a single NLCS game since '99.

The Washington Nationals

Seasons: 43

Last Playoff Appearance: 1981

Playoff Appearances: 1

World Series: 0

Percentage of playoff appearances: 2.3%

Other: Yay! Company! The Expos/Nationals franchise record in the playoffs is 5-5. That's five playoff wins in 43 years. Funny that their best chances of going to the World Series both came in strike-shortened seasons. In 1981 they went 60-48 and beat the Phillies in five games in the first round, then lost in five games to the Dodgers in the NLCS (5 game series.) The Expos held a 2-1 series lead, but in game 5 they were all tied at 1 in the ninth inning when Rick Monday hit a 2-out, nobody on home run off of Steve Rogers. It was the only postseason home run that Monday would ever hit. Fernando Valenzuela would walk two on with two out, but Bob Welch came in to get Jerry White to ground out. It was the closest the franchise would ever get to the World Series. In 1994, the Expos were 74-40 with a six game lead in the NL East and the best overall record, but the strike said "Uh uh, no way, no how, see ya!"

They moved to Washington in 2005 and are still waiting for their first winning season.

The New York Mets

Seasons: 50

Last Playoff Appearance: 2006

Playoff Appearances: 7

World Series: 4 (2 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 14%

Other: The Mets finished in 9th or 10th place in each of their first seven seasons, then became the most incredible underdog story (one of) in sports history in 1969, winning 100 games and the World Series during the first season of re-alignment. They next made the playoffs in '73 and lost in seven games to Oakland. They NEXT made the playoffs in 1986 and won in seven games over Boston. Since the 94 strike, New York has been to the playoffs three times, losing in the NLCS twice and the World Series once.

The Florida Marlins

Seasons: 19

Last Playoff Appearance: 2003

Playoff Appearances: 2

World Series: 2 (2 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 10.5%

Other: If you're anything like me, your mind was just blown. The Marlins, a two-time World Series champ, has been to the playoffs.... TWICE. For some reason, I never really had thought of that. They've never gone to the playoffs and left a loser, though they've only been there twice in nineteen seasons. How about this for another fun fact: Florida, a team that has more championships in the last 15 years than everyone except for the Yankees, Red Sox, and Cardinals... has never won their division. They've never even finished in first place.

The Milwaukee Brewers

Seasons: 43

Last Playoff Appearance: 2011

Playoff Appearances: 4

World Series: 1 (0 wins)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 9%

Other: So, the Brewers spent one season in Seattle as the Pilots and then left to go onto great glory, right? The M's have made the same amount of playoff appearances as the Brewers have, only in fewer seasons, and Milwaukee only made the WS once, in 1982. Sorry Milwaukee fans, but when you took our team, you should have known they were already tainted. (Got that Oklahoma City?) The Brewers blew a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning of game seven against the Cardinals, and that's the closest they've come to a championship. After that loss, they 25 years without a playoff appearance until 2008, and then returned this season to lose in the NLCS to the Cardinals... again. Fun Fact: In 2003, Scott Podsednik led the Brewers in bWAR.

The St. Louis Cardinals

Seasons: 130

Last Playoff Appearance: 2011

Playoff Appearances: 24

World Series: 18 (11 Championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 18.5%

Other: They started off for one season as the Brown Stockings, and then made the mistake of changing their name to the Browns for 16 seasons. I honestly am feeling a little rage right now for what I am about to say... In 1899, they were called the St. Louis Perfectos. THAT'S THE GREATEST DAMN TEAM NAME IN THE HISTORY OF TEAM NAMES! ONE SEASON?! THAT'S ALL YOU GAVE IT? DAMN IT WHAT A GREAT NAME! They were led by Cy Young too, of all people. Ugh. Anyway, they didn't make their first world Series until 1926, but they won it and then made it back in four of the next seven seasons, winning two more times. The Cards have had greats like Rogers Hornsby, then Stan Musial led them to three titles in the 1940's, then Bob Gibson in the sixties. The Ozzie Smith until Albert Pujols. Whatever the reason, St. Louis has had some of the greatest players that have ever or will ever play the game and have won 11 titles. Still, they were only Perfecto for one season, and I can't forgive them for that.

Cincinnati Reds

Seasons: 130

Last Playoff Appearance: 2010

Playoff Appearances: 13

World Series: 9 (5 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 10%

Other: Other than the Big Red Machine in the 1970's, Cincinnati has had a pretty lackluster franchise history. Since 1980, they have made the playoffs only three times, though they did win the World Series in 1990 with their most notable players being Barry Larkin, Chris Sabo, Eric Davis, Jose Rijo, Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton, and Randy Myers. They haven't won a playoff game since they swept the Dodgers in the divisional round of the 1995 playoffs.

The Pittsburgh Pirates

Seasons: 130

Last Playoff Appearance: 1992

Playoff Appearances: 14

World Series: 9 (5 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 10.7%

Other: This is the most notable drought to everybody I think, since the Pirates haven't had a winning season since Barry Bonds left after the 1992 season. 20 years. This came after they had made the NLCS in three straight seasons, though they couldn't get over the hump. The Pirates have not been to the Series since 1979, a game seven victory over the Baltimore Orioles and led by Series MVP Willie Stargell. A lot of history here, dating back to to Honus Wagner, but they aren't only 20 years removed from a playoff appearance.. they don't look like they're very close to getting back either.

The Chicago Cubs

Seasons: 136

Last Playoff Appearance: 2008

Playoff Appearances: 16

World Series: 10 (2 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 7.3%

Other: What is there to say that we don't already know? The Cubbies went to the Series in four out of five seasons between 1906 and 1910, and won two titles. Between 1918 and 1945, they went to the Series six times and had a record of 8-24 in those title games. They haven't been back since.

1984, their first playoff appearance in 40 years... The Cubs lead the Padres 2-0 in a best of five and the winner goes to the World Series. They drop game three, 7-1. Game four is a back and forth contest that's tied at 5 in the ninth inning, when Steve Garvey hits a game-winning two-run home run to send it to a game five. Chicago hits two home runs early to take a 3-0 lead, but Rick Sutcliffe implodes in the seventh after an error and the Padres win 6-3.

There was Steve Bartman in 2003, but other than that the Cubs haven't come close, being swept in the divisional round three times in the Wild Card era.

The Houston Astros

Seasons: 50

Last Playoff Appearance: 2005

Playoff Appearances: 9

World Series: 1 (0 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 18%

Other: The Astros put up a surprisingly high 18% in their playoff appearances compared to seasons in the majors, despite their lack of success once they get there and the general feeling that they suck. (At least, that's my feeling.) Probably because as an M's fan, I'm holding onto those other teams without a championship, not wanting them to get the ring first. The 'Stros were swept in 2005, their only appearance in the World Series. In the 1980 NLCS, they held a 5-2 lead in the eighth inning of the deciding game, but gave up 5 runs to the Phillies and then eventually lost in the 10th inning on a Garry Maddox double. Houston was one of the most successful post-Wild Card teams, but have fallen off considerably. They'll most likely leave the National League next season having won just a single NL Pennant in 51 years.

The Arizona Diamondbacks

Seasons: 14

Last Playoff Appearance: 2011

Playoff Appearances: 5

World Series: 1 (1 championship)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 35.7%

Other: The D'Backs have been quite successful in their short time in the majors, having gone to the playoffs in their second season and winning a championship in their fourth. I don't know what else to say. Fuck you Diamondbacks? You got Randy Johnson very early in your history and then got a championship soon after.

The San Francisco Giants

Seasons: 129 (54 in San Francisco. Previously New York Giants, two seasons as the "Gothams"!)

Last Playoff Appearance: 2010

Playoff Appearances: 23

World Series: 21 (6 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 17.8%

Other: There's a lot of history in the franchise, as the New York Giants went to 17 World Series during their time before moving to San Francisco in 1958. In New York, they had a NL rivalry with the Brooklyn Dodgers and a World Series rivalry with the Yankees. It's amazing how much history that you associate with the Giants, is with the New York version and not San Francisco, such as Bobby Thompsons Shot Heard Round the World, and the Willie Mays Catch. But then the Giants and Dodgers moved to California, and the Yankees were left alone for a little while since, you know, people could fly in airplanes and stuff so it's easier to travel. The Giants won their first championship in San Francisco in 2010, having made the playoffs for the fifth time after the 1994 strike. They lost in seven games to the Angels in 2002.

The Los Angeles Dodgers

Seasons: 129 (54 in L.A. Previously: Brooklyn Dodgers, Robins, Superbas, Bridegrooms, Grooms, Grays, and Atlantics.)

Last Playoff Appearance: 2009

Playoff Appearances: 26 (17 in L.A.)

World Series: 22 (6 championships. 5 of those in L.A.)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 20% overall. 31.4% in LA.

Other: So the Brooklyn Dodgers are one of the most interesting stories in sports and they finally overcame the Yankees in the World Series in 1955 in seven games to take their first title. However, Ebbets Field was shitty and the owner wanted to go somewhere that he could build a better ballpark with complete control and Los Angeles officials were like "Hey, come here a minute, look at this." and they showed Walter O'Malley their spot and a huge place for a parking like and O'Malley was like "Cool, thanks." and the Dodgers moved there in 1957.

They won titles in 1959, 1963, and 1965. Fun Fact: Though he was young and played sparingly in '59 and '63, Ron Fairly led the Dodgers in RBI (70) in 1965 and did grab three rings with them. He went 11 for 29 with 3 doubles and 2 home runs in the 1965 World Series, but Sandy Koufax took WS MVP honors because he's Sandy Fucking Koufax.

The Dodgers have not been to the World Series since 1988 (Kirk Gibson series) and they lost the NLCS 4 games to 1 in 2008 and 2009.

The Colorado Rockies

Seasons: 19

Last Playoff Appearance: 2009

Playoff Appearances: 3

World Series: 1 (0 championships)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 15.7%

Other: The Rockies have made it past the LDS just once in their history, getting swept in the 2007 World Series by the Red Sox after the Rockies had one of the most incredible September runs in history, winning 13 of their last 14 games to setup a one-game playoff classic with the San Diego Padres. They won that, swept the Phillies, swept the Diamondbacks, but in the series they had nothing left to give. So, in 19 years, they have 0 World Series games victories and four NLCS game victories.

The San Diego Padres

Seasons: 43

Last Playoff Appearance: 2006

Playoff Appearances: 5

World Series: 2 (0 wins)

Percentage of playoff appearances: 11.6%

Other: Finally, there is the Padres. They randomly made the World Series in 1998 (I'm sorry, but that's the most forgettable WS team of the last twenty years and they got swept by the Yankees.) and also made the WS in 1984, when they lost 4-1 to the Tigers. 43 years and 1 WS game win. They made the playoff three other times and lost in the NLDS 3-0, 3-0, and 3-1.

Conclusion:

I don't like putting "Conclusion" on my articles, but I need to have some sort of gap between all of that information and how I wrap my brain around it... anyway...

On both sides of the spectrum, you have the Yankees and the Expos/Nationals. Let's just throw those teams out as exceptions. Nobody will ever be the Yankees. They are the absolute epitome (to me) of what's wrong in the competitive balance. Meanwhile, the Expos only had two chances at a World Series, and somehow a strike was involved during both of those seasons.

Most teams seem to sit in that 10% range that the Mariners sit in, while some newer teams have a higher percentage, it would only take a drought (not unlike the ones we see all of the time) to bring that number way down to where the M's sit.

Meanwhile, many of those teams that have been around for 100 years, well.. how hard is it to remain competitive and make the playoffs 33% of the time anyway when there are this many teams and only so many playoff spots to go-around. The numbers from the early days are going to be wonky anyway, since that's not how we do it anymore. The post-1994 numbers are even more important, for obvious reasons, while the extra Wild Card changes a lot as well. Though the thing with that extra Wild Card is that it seems like you'll be a playoff team in name only if you win a wild-card game berth and then lose. Great, you "went to the playoffs" and lost one game and that was it.

Though it will be interesting and probably give teams like the Mariners an extra opportunity to make a World Series. Yet, I still see some drawbacks. (Those years that the M's would have been a wild card with the best record and then lose a one-game series... how disheartening.)

I guess what I'm saying is... why I did this...

It's hard sometimes to be a baseball fan. Not to be a fan of the game, but to challenge yourself to not give up even though I know (I feel very confident) that the Mariners will not make the playoffs this year. To not give up when your team misses the playoffs for the tenth straight season. To not quit when it seems like it may be a perfect time to say "Call me when they actually make it to October again." Baseball is a challenging sport to be a fan of, yet I've loved the Mariners for twenty years, and I'll love them until I get hit by a bus, as I plan to do when I die.

We're challenged by the structure. By the powers that be. By the Yankees and the divisions and the money and the balance... but so far, we've stepped up to that challenge as fans. Especially if you're still reading this. That would really be the most amazing challenge to overcome of all. Because even I'm sick of myself by now.

Okay, I'm just going to stop writing and let you marinate on the data yourself. If you want to. It was my own crazy self that got this started, and it had nothing to do with you so I'm sorry for dragging you into it. Blame Prince Fielder and the Rangers.

My name is Kenny and I write for Field Gulls, Fake Teams, I have a Twitter and a new Website