Call to the pen
Fansided

MLB playoffs: The six best non-playoff teams in the wild card era

ByBobMueller|
8 Sep 1999: Mike Cameron #44 of the Cincinnati Reds kneels on the base during the game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Reds defeated the Cubs 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel /Allsport
8 Sep 1999: Mike Cameron #44 of the Cincinnati Reds kneels on the base during the game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Reds defeated the Cubs 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Daniel /Allsport
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MLB playoffs
SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 8: Starting pitcher Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners gets a pat on the back from first baseman Robinson Cano #22 of the Seattle Mariners as he leaves the game after a meeting at the mound that included Seattle Mariners training staff during the fifth inning of a game against the New York Yankees at Safeco Field on September 8, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

Since the wild card was established in 1994, these are the six best teams that failed to make the MLB playoffs.

At the end of July, back before the Seattle Mariners’ season took an ugly nosedive away from the MLB playoffs, there were three American League wild card contenders with winning percentages over .570. The Yankees were at the top of this group with a .648 winning percentage that would lead to nearly 105 wins had they kept it up (they haven’t).

The high-flying Mariners were next, with a .589 winning percentage, which translates to 95 wins over a 162-game season. Behind the Mariners at that time was the Oakland A’s, with a .578 winning percentage. Had they continued winning games at that rate, they would be looking at a 93 or 94-win season (they’ve improved).

Things have changed quite a bit since then. The Yankees are now on a 100-win pace, with the A’s coming on strong with a 98-win pace. Just 1.5 games separates them as they battle for home-field advantage for the AL wild card game. Of course, the A’s also have the AL West in their sites. They trail the Houston Astros by 3.5 games.

The Mariners, meanwhile, have not only fallen behind the A’s, they now trail the Tampa Bay Rays in the wild card standings. It’s been an ugly six weeks for the M’s. They could still win 88 to 90 games, but they’re no longer in contention to end their generations-long playoff drought that dates back to 2001.

When the Yankees, Mariners and A’s were all looking good near the end of July, there was a chance we would see a team with 92 or more wins miss out on a MLB playoffs spot. That hasn’t happened since MLB went to the two wild card system in 2012. The team with the most wins that didn’t make the playoffs in the two wild card era was the 2013 Texas Rangers. They were 91-72 after losing a one-game wild card tie-breaker game with Tampa Bay that ended their season.

The one wild card era went from 1994 to 2011, but without a post-season in the strike-shortened 1994 season. From 1995 to 2011, there were eight teams with 91 or more wins who didn’t make the MLB playoffs. Six of those won 92 or more games but had to watch the postseason from home. Here are those six teams, the six best non-playoff teams in the wild card era.

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