The Tigers defeat the White Sox 4-1 Friday night. That clinches a wild card slot for the Tigers. It also means Chicago sets the modern record for losses in a season at 121.
The Tigers finish a remarkable run that brought them from eight games under .500 on August 10th to 12 games over .500 today. They own the best record in baseball, 31-11 since then, with division rivals Kansas City and Minnesota playing below .500 ball. Tonight may decide which of the other two will join the Tigers.
The White Sox need to win their remaining two games to avoid the worst winning percentage in a 162 game season. the 1962 Mets only played 160 games. The White Sox need to go 41-121 to finish above .250.
It’s ironic because the Tigers should have done this in 2003 but the Twins had already clinched a playoff spot and tanked their final season series. This year’s Tigers may yet save the White Sox.
What’s really impressive is that the White Sox are historically bad, but there aren’t any dominant teams. The Yankees (boo, hiss) have the best run differential, but they’re not much better than the Dodgers or Brewers. I think it’s a crap shoot among mediocre teams.
That’s a good take. For example there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference at this point between being the two or three wild card seed. There’s no host that clearly better or worse than another.