Thanks to a dominant performance in interleague play this year by the American League, an unusual circumstance exists in the 2006 National League wild card race. Teams that have .500 records - or even worse - are finding themselves in the thick of post-season contention.
The creation of third divisions in each league as well as wild card teams in 1994 has, from time to time, created some unusual post-season successes. For instance, five of the last eight World Series participants (for years 2002-2005) have been wild card teams, including three winners - the 2002 Anaheim Angels, the 2003 Florida Marlins, and the 2004 Boston Red Sox. In fact, in 2002, the winner of the World Series was required to be a wild card team when it began, because both participants - the Angels and the Giants - were wild cards!
In past years of baseball history, the opposite was true. Until 1969, there was one and only one pennant winner in each league. Finish second, and you were out of luck, even in the 10-team leagues which existed during 1961-1968. Famous examples of hard-luck teams include the 1954 New York Yankees (103-51 - finishing a whopping 8 games behind the Cleveland Indians!), and the 1961 Detroit Tigers (101-61, also 8 behind pennant-winning New York). Even after the divisions were created in each league, there were still hard-luck second-place finishers, such as the 1980 Baltimore Orioles (100-62) and the 1993 San Francisco Giants (103-59).
Expansion, and the financial need to create interest in more of baseball's cities during August and September, drove the step of including of Central divisions in each league and the wild card. In the 2006 National League, this has produced a strange phenomenon. The Milwaukee Brewers, who have not produced a winning season since 1992, are following a similar pattern. Now, in late August, they have a record of 62-65, out of contention, right? Wrong! They are in the thick of the NL Central race and the wild card race, 4 1/2 games behind in each. And in spite of the team's struggles on the road and the proliferation of injuries to the team's starting players, the fans and the media here are talking pennant!
Who will represent the National League in the 2006 playoffs? (Take the poll below for the NL Central.)