Skin of their teeth

The National League’s East Division was the embodiment of mediocrity in 1973. All six teams hovered around the .500 mark as August came to a close. The St. Louis Cardinals held the lead with a 68-66 record, followed by the Pittsburgh Pirates at 65-65. Nobody seemed worthy of the divisional title.

The Cardinals went into a tailspin in September, as did three other participants in this slow-motion pennant race. Only the Montreal Expos (16-13) and New York Mets (20-8) came to life during the final month. The Mets, who had been 12 games below .500 as recently as August 26, finally emerged as the NL East champions with the unimpressive record of 82-79.

New York’s prospects in the National League Championship Series were bleak. The Mets were facing the powerful Cincinnati Reds (99-63), soon to gain everlasting fame as the Big Red Machine. But stellar pitching by Jon Matlack, Jerry Koosman, and Tom Seaver quieted the bats of the mighty Reds, who scored just eight runs in five games. The Mets, with a team score of 57.307, became the most unlikely winner of a league title in the Modern Era, which dates back to 1961.

New York fought valiantly in the World Series, extending the Oakland Athletics to seven games before losing. That was a common fate for teams on the following list of the era’s 10 lowest-rated league champs, which are ranked in reverse order of their team scores. Only the 1987 Minnesota Twins and 2006 Cardinals went on to win world championships, but the 1973 Mets and three others (the 2014 Kansas City Royals, 1997 Cleveland Indians, and 2001 New York Yankees) battled all the way to a seventh game in the World Series.

Scroll below for a breakdown of each club’s win-loss record and winning percentage, its team score, the league title it won, its fate in the World Series, its TS rank and percentile among all 1,626 Modern Era clubs, the average number of runs it scored and allowed per regular-season game, and the ratio of bases per out (BPO) that its batters attained and its pitchers surrendered.

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1. New York Mets (1973)

Record: 82-79 (.509)
Team score: 57.307 points
League title: National
World Series winner: No
Era rank (and percentile): 416th of 1,626 teams (74.5%)
Runs per game: 3.78 scored, 3.65 allowed
Bases per out (BPO): .583 attained, .607 allowed

2. Minnesota Twins (1987)

Record: 85-77 (.525)
Team score: 59.810 points
League title: American
World Series winner: Yes
Era rank (and percentile): 356th of 1,626 teams (78.2%)
Runs per game: 4.85 scored, 4.98 allowed
Bases per out (BPO): .721 attained, .764 allowed

3. Kansas City Royals (2014)

Record: 89-73 (.549)
Team score: 62.588 points
League title: American
World Series winner: No
Era rank (and percentile): 267th of 1,626 teams (83.6%)
Runs per game: 4.02 scored, 3.85 allowed
Bases per out (BPO): .634 attained, .625 allowed

4. Detroit Tigers (2012)

Record: 88-74 (.543)
Team score: 64.777 points
League title: American
World Series winner: No
Era rank (and percentile): 219th of 1,626 teams (86.6%)
Runs per game: 4.48 scored, 4.14 allowed
Bases per out (BPO): .707 attained, .669 allowed

5. St. Louis Cardinals (2006)

Record: 83-78 (.516)
Team score: 67.156 points
League title: National
World Series winner: Yes
Era rank (and percentile): 185th of 1,626 teams (88.7%)
Runs per game: 4.85 scored, 4.73 allowed
Bases per out (BPO): .729 attained, .739 allowed

6. Cleveland Indians (1997)

Record: 86-75 (.534)
Team score: 67.467 points
League title: American
World Series winner: No
Era rank (and percentile): 180th of 1,626 teams (89.0%)
Runs per game: 5.39 scored, 5.06 allowed
Bases per out (BPO): .810 attained, .758 allowed

7. Texas Rangers (2010)

Record: 90-72 (.556)
Team score: 67.736 points
League title: American
World Series winner: No
Era rank (and percentile): 176th of 1,626 teams (89.2%)
Runs per game: 4.86 scored, 4.24 allowed
Bases per out (BPO): .721 attained, .674 allowed

8. San Diego Padres (1984)

Record: 92-70 (.568)
Team score: 67.737 points
League title: National
World Series winner: No
Era rank (and percentile): 175th of 1,626 teams (89.3%)
Runs per game: 4.23 scored, 3.91 allowed
Bases per out (BPO): .639 attained, .632 allowed

9. Cincinnati Reds (1961)

Record: 93-61 (.604)
Team score: 68.297 points
League title: National
World Series winner: No
Era rank (and percentile): 165th of 1,626 teams (89.9%)
Runs per game: 4.61 scored, 4.24 allowed
Bases per out (BPO): .694 attained, .662 allowed

10. New York Yankees (2001)

Record: 95-65 (.594)
Team score: 68.361 points
League title: American
World Series winner: No
Era rank (and percentile): 164th of 1,626 teams (90.0%)
Runs per game: 4.99 scored, 4.43 allowed
Bases per out (BPO): .748 attained, .679 allowed

Next 15

11. New York Mets (2015 National), 90-72, TS 68.509
12. New York Mets (2000 National), 94-68, TS 70.288
13. San Diego Padres (1998 National), 98-64, TS 70.298
14. Boston Red Sox (1975 American), 95-65, TS 70.338
15. Detroit Tigers (2006 American), 95-67, TS 70.822
16. Philadelphia Phillies (1983 National), 90-72, TS 71.305
17. Kansas City Royals (1985 American), 91-71, TS 71.710
18. New York Yankees (2000 American), 87-74, TS 71.883
19. San Francisco Giants (2014 National), 88-74, TS 72.008
20. Kansas City Royals (1980 American), 97-65, TS 72.071
21. Florida Marlins (2003 National), 91-71, TS 72.426
22. Houston Astros (2005 National), 89-73, TS 72.466
23. San Francisco Giants (2012 National), 94-68, TS 72.475
24. St. Louis Cardinals (1964 National), 93-69, TS 72.585
25. Philadelphia Phillies (2009 National), 93-69, TS 72.790