The Evolution of the 1893 National League Batting Title

Earlier I was going through some back emails, and came across a question from the Horsehide Trivia listserv: "Who was the first player to lead the majors in batting average in consecutive seasons after the pitcher’s mound was created and set at its current distance?" The first thought that came to mind was Hugh Duffy, as I had just had his player record open in Total Baseball and noticed that he had led the National League (the only league at the time) in batting in 1893 and 1894. Yet Duffy was not the correct answer, once the other hints were taken into account - Jesse Burkett was, who led in 1895 and 1896. Confused by this discrepancy, I dove into Duffy's Baseball Reference page, and began to unearth a statistical story spanning some 130 years.

Let's start at the beginning.

Hugh Duffy
(credit: Society for American Baseball Research)

In 1893, Billy Hamilton was the National League's leading batsman when he was diagnosed with typhoid fever in August. His season abruptly ended, having played just 82 games. His absence helped sink his Philadelphia team's chances of winning the pennant. They slid from second to finish in fourth place, 14 games behind the Boston Beaneaters, who were led by the "Heavenly Twins" of Hugh Duffy and Tommy McCarthy.

The season ended on Saturday, September 30. A week later, on October 7, The Sporting News published its tabulations of the batting averages for the league season. The publication listed the top three averages as Hamilton .407, Duffy .374, and Ed Delahanty (Hamilton's Philadelphia teammate) .370. The paper declared that "Hamilton of Philadelphia Leads the League in Batting" with the "largest percentage achieved in many years."

A week later, National League President Nick Young released the official league statistics, which were published in The Sporting Life, followed by The Sporting News the following week. This official record showed a very different leaderboard. Jake Stenzel led at .409, Hamilton was second at .395, and Sam Thompson (another Phillie) third at .377. Duffy was listed lower on the list, at "just" .359.

Spalding's Baseball Guide 1894 contained the "full official league record for 1893". It prefaced the batting record by noting, "It will be seen that the batting average record, given below, places Stenzel of the Pittsburgh club as the leading batter of the season, simply because he has the highest base hit percentage." The guide then published a near identical list as that previously seen in The Sporting News and The Sporting Life, with a major adjustment near the top: Duffy was now listed at .378, ahead of Thompson for third place. The correction of a mathematical error evidently resulted in Duffy's adjusted average - his total of 203 hits and 537 at bats were unchanged from the previous listing.

John Thorn explains what happened to the title from there: "The early record tomes, the Spalding Record Book and the Sporting News Record Book, placed Jake Stenzel (NL) in the lead for 1893 and Nap Lajoie (AL) on top in 1905. Both Stenzel and Lajoie were the leaders during the life of the Spalding volumes, 1908–1924, and in the Sporting News volume from its debut in 1921 until 1929, when Hugh Duffy replaced Stenzel, and 1930, when Elmer Flick supplanted Lajoie. The reasoning behind the Sporting News switches was that both Stenzel and Lajoie failed to meet the unwritten criterion of a representative number of games — Stenzel had played in only 60 games and Lajoie in 65, not even half of their club’s scheduled games. Otherwise the early record books’ leaders were those endorsed by the leagues."

The arrival of baseball encyclopedias in the latter half of the 20th century led to a divergence in the records. The 1969 Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia's recompiled record lists Hamilton as the league leader at .380, followed by Thompson at .370, Delahanty at .368, and Duffy at .363. Stenzel was excluded with too few games, but Hamilton still met the "Big Mac" playing time standard it applied for the 1876-1919 period: "games played equal to at least 60 percent of games the team scheduled". (David Nemec's Great Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Major League Baseball has the same top four, though using a standard of 350 at bats, which Hamilton barely crossed.)

Meanwhile, as mentioned above, Total Baseball still treated Duffy as the leader. According to John Thorn, "Billy Hamilton’s average was higher than Duffy’s, and he would have met modern criteria for plate appearances. The NL, however, honored Duffy because he appeared in at least 100 games, which was expected of the leading players of that day. The title is thus accorded to him." Evidently Total Baseball was simply going off of the previous official record given by the National League, and not the recompiled record, because otherwise - by Thorn's stated standard - Thompson would have been credited with the title. (Curiously, on the 1893 leaderboard Duffy's average is listed as .362, though as .363 on his player record.)

The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia - the spiritual successor of Total Baseball - doesn't seem to know what to do. Its top four is Thompson .370, Hamilton .380, Delahanty .368, and Duffy .363 - yet Duffy is the only player given the "black ink" treatment on his player record.

Even today, there are at least three different "official" batting titlists for 1893. Baseball Reference credits Hamilton's .380 based on the recompiled record and the modern playing time standard. However, Duffy is still also given credit. As the site explains on a page called Major League Batting Champion as Recognized at End of Year: "The Batting Titles listed are those players recognized by their leagues at the completion of the season as having the highest batting average in the league. Subsequent statistical research and rules changes may mean that we list a different batter as having the highest batting average for that season. When applicable we will give 'black ink' measurement credit to both the league batting champ and the player we believe had the highest batting average."

Meanwhile, over at Baseball Almanac, in what it describes as "the official list of batting title holders", Sam Thompson is given the title at .370.

Given all of this, what is to be learned here? In a sport that has been obsessed with statistics since its inception, reconciling of inconsistencies, reevaluation of omissions, and correction of errors find themselves just as much a part of the story. Because of this reality, the way we treat the statistical record has constantly changed throughout history. To use an analogy from constitutional law: should we take an "originalist" view that the record should reflect what the statistics were at the time they were recorded, or should we treat the record book as a "living document", constantly evolving as new data is uncovered and corrections made? 

Whatever your view, one thing is for certain: statistics will always be an integral part of baseball as long as the game is still played.

References:

Kerr, Roy. Sliding Billy Hamilton. 2009

The Sporting News, October 7, 1893

The Sporting Life, October 14, 1893

The Sporting News, October 21, 1893

Spalding's Baseball Guide and Official League Book 1894

The Baseball Encyclopedia (1st Edition)

Total Baseball (8th Edition)

The Great Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Major League Baseball (2nd edition)

The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia (5th Edition)

www.baseball-almanac.com

www.baseball-reference.com

A Retroactive 6-Team MLB Postseason (1969-1993)

Major League Baseball has traditionally had the smallest postseason field of the four major North American sports leagues. However, in recent years MLB has started following in the footsteps of its competitors. 2022 marked the first season of a revised postseason format, in which six teams made the postseason for both the National and American Leagues - up from five in previous years and four from 1994-2011. These six teams are comprised of three division winners (receiving the top three seeds) and three wild card teams. The top two division winners receive a bye to the best-of-five League Division Series, while the the other four teams play in a best-of-three Wild Card Series.

Image credit: CBS Sports

I thought it would be an interesting exercise to explore what an expanded postseason format would have looked like historically in MLB. Specifically, I wanted to look at the era from 1969 to 1993, during which both the AL and NL had two divisions. In that period, the winners of the two divisions played in a League Championship Series, initially best-of-five, then best-of-seven from 1985 onward. 

Under my hypothetical six-team format, the two division winners would have advanced automatically to a best-of-five League Division Series, while four wild card teams would have played each other in a best-of-three Wild Card Series. This marks a key departure from today's format in two respects: no division winner has to play a Wild Card Series, and it is guaranteed that the team with the second-best record in a league would not have to play the team with the best record prior to the LCS, regardless of if they are a wild card team or division winner. 

Before I share what this would have looked like for each season, I want to make a few observations. First, one key advantage of this format would have been that it ensures that the team with the second-best record would have had an opportunity to reach the World Series via the postseason. In many seasons from 1969-1993, a team with the second-best record lost their own division race, while a team with an inferior record won the opposite division. Notably, twice a team won 100+ regular season games but failed to make the postseason - the Baltimore Orioles in 1980 and the San Francisco Giants in 1993.

Another observation is that while there may be concerns about the quality of teams reaching the postseason in an expanded format, the reality is that upwards of 97% of teams that hypothetically would have made the postseason would have had a .500 or better win percentage. Only 7 out of 300 teams would have made it in with a losing record. Considering that both leagues had at least 12 teams throughout it stands to reason that a format sending the top-half of the league to the postseason would generally result in teams with winning records making it in. Indeed the expansion of the American League to 14 teams in 1977 would have all but guaranteed this, with only one losing team potentially making the postseason in 17 seasons. Conversly, there still exists the possibility that teams with winning records would still miss the postseason, more so in the American League after the 1977 expansion. Those teams are also noted below.

Lastly, a note that this exercise cannot account for every change that this format would have potentially induced - particularly personnel decisions or managerial strategies for teams that would have now found themselves in playoff races they were not in otherwise. I do try to account for obvious changes that can be easily accounted for. Most notably, the absence of playoffs to decide division winners or wild cards in the new format is reflected through the use of tiebreaker criteria. This results, for instance, in the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the NL West over the Houston Astros in 1980 via a head-to-head record tiebreaker as opposed to a one-game playoff.

Without further ado, here are hypothetical postseason matchups for 1969-1993:

1969

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Chicago Cubs (93-69) vs #6 Pittsburgh Pirates (88-74)

#4 San Francisco Giants (90-72) vs #5 Cincinnati Reds (89-73)

NL Division Series

#1 New York Mets (100-62) vs #4 San Francisco/#5 Cincinnati

#2 Atlanta Braves (93-69) vs #3 Chicago/#6 Pittsburgh

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Detroit Tigers (90-72) vs #6 Washington Senators (86-76)

#4 Oakland Athletics (88-74) vs #5 Boston Red Sox (87-75)

AL Division Series

#1 Baltimore Orioles (109-53) vs #4 Oakland/#5 Boston

#2 Minnesota Twins (97-65) vs #3 Detroit/#6 Washington

Other winning teams: St. Louis Cardinals (87-75), Los Angeles Dodgers (85-77)

1970 

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Los Angeles Dodgers (87-74) vs #6 New York Mets (83-79)

#4 San Francisco Giants (86-76) vs. #5 Chicago Cubs (84-78)

NL Division Series

#1 Cincinnati Reds (102-60) vs #4 San Francisco/#5 Chicago

#2 Pittsburgh Pirates (89-73) vs #3 Los Angeles/#6 New York

AL Wild Card

#3 New York Yankees (93-69) vs #6 California Angels (86-76)

#4 Oakland Athletics (89-73) vs #5 Boston Red Sox (87-75)

AL Division Series

#1 Baltimore Orioles (108-54) vs #4 Oakland/#5 Boston

#2 Minnesota Twins (98-64) vs #3 New York/#6 California

1971

NL Wild Card Series

#3 St. Louis Cardinals (90-72) vs #6 New York Mets (83-79)

#4 Los Angeles Dodgers (89-73) vs #5 Chicago Cubs (83-79)

NL Division Series

#1 Pittsburgh Pirates (97-65) vs #4 Los Angeles/#5 Chicago

#2 San Francisco Giants (90-72) vs #3 St. Louis/#6 New York

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Detroit Tigers (91-71) vs #6 New York Yankees (82-80)

#4 Kansas City Royals (85-76) vs #5 Boston Red Sox (85-77)

AL Division Series

#1 Baltimore Orioles (101-57) vs #4 Kansas City/#5 Boston

#2 Oakland Athletics (101-60) vs #3 Detroit/#6 New York

Other winning teams: Atlanta Braves (82-80)

1972

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Houston Astros (84-69) vs #6 New York Mets (83-73)

#4 Chicago Cubs (85-70) vs #5 Los Angeles Dodgers (85-70)

NL Division Series

#1 Pittsburgh Pirates (96-59) vs #4 Chicago/#5 Los Angeles

#2 Cincinnati Reds (95-59) vs #3 Houston/#6 New York

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Chicago White Sox (87-67) vs #6 New York Yankees (79-76)

#4 Boston Red Sox (85-70) vs #5 Baltimore Orioles (80-74)

AL Division Series

#1 Oakland Athletics (93-62) vs #4 Boston/#5 Baltimore

#2 Detroit Tigers (86-70) vs #3 Chicago/#6 New York

1973

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Los Angeles Dodgers (95-66) vs #6 St. Louis Cardinals (81-81)

#4 San Francisco Giants (88-74) vs #5 Houston Astros (82-80)

NL Division Series

#1 Cincinnati Reds (99-63) vs #4 San Francisco/#5 Houston

#2 New York Mets (82-79) vs #3 Los Angeles/#6 St. Louis

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Boston Red Sox (89-73) vs #6 Minnesota Twins (81-81)

#4 Kansas City Royals (88-74) vs #5 Detroit Tigers (85-77)

AL Division Series

#1 Baltimore Orioles (97-65) vs #4 Kansas City/#5 Detroit

#2 Oakland Athletics (94-68) vs #3 Boston/#6 Minnesota

1974

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Cincinnati Reds (98-64) vs #6 Houston Astros (81-81)

#4 Atlanta Braves (88-74) vs #5 St. Louis Cardinals (86-75)

NL Division Series

#1 Los Angeles Dodgers (102-60) vs #4 Atlanta/#5 St. Louis

#2 Pittsburgh Pirates (88-74) vs #3 Cincinnati/#6 Houston

AL Wild Card Series

#3 New York Yankees (89-73) vs #6 Minnesota Twins (82-80)

#4 Texas Rangers (84-76) vs #5 Boston Red Sox (84-78)

AL Division Series

#1 Baltimore Orioles (91-71) vs #4 Texas/#5 Boston

#2 Oakland Athletics (90-72) vs #3 New York/#6 Minnesota

1975

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Los Angeles Dodgers (88-74) vs #6 St. Louis Cardinals (82-80)

#4 Philadelphia Phillies (86-76) vs #5 New York Mets (82-80)

NL Division Series

#1 Cincinnati Reds (108-54) vs #4 Philadelphia/#5 New York

#2 Pittsburgh Pirates (92-69) vs #3 Los Angeles/#6 St. Louis

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Baltimore Orioles (90-69) vs #6 Cleveland Indians (79-80)

#4 Kansas City Royals (91-71) vs #5 New York Yankees (83-77)

AL Division Series

#1 Oakland Athletics (98-64) vs #4 Kansas City/#5 New York

#2 Boston Red Sox (95-65) vs #3 Baltimore/#6 Cleveland

1976

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Los Angeles Dodgers (92-70) vs #6 Houston Astros (80-82)

#4 Pittsburgh Pirates (92-70) vs #5 New York Mets (86-76)

NL Division Series

#1 Cincinnati Reds (102-60) vs #4 Pittsburgh/#5 New York

#2 Philadelphia Phillies (101-61) vs #3 Los Angeles/#6 Houston

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Baltimore Orioles (88-74) vs #6 Boston Red Sox (83-79)

#4 Oakland Athletics (87-74) vs #5 Minnesota Twins (85-77)

AL Division Series

#1 New York Yankees (97-62) vs #4 Oakland/#5 Minnesota

#2 Kansas City Royals (90-72) vs #3 Baltimore/#6 Boston

Other winning teams: Cleveland Indians (81-78)

1977

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Pittsburgh Pirates (96-66) vs #6 Houston Astros (81-81)

#4 Cincinnati Reds (88-74) vs #5 St. Louis Cardinals (83-79)

NL Division Series

#1 Philadelphia Phillies (101-61) vs #4 Cincinnati/#5 St. Louis

#2 Los Angeles Dodgers (98-64) vs #3 Pittsburgh/#6 Houston

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Boston Red Sox (97-64) vs #6 Chicago White Sox (90-72)

#4 Baltimore Orioles (97-64) vs #5 Texas Rangers (94-68)

AL Division Series

#1 Kansas City Royals (102-60) vs #4 Baltimore/#5 Texas

#2 New York Yankees (100-62) vs #3 Boston/#6 Chicago

Other winning teams: Minnesota Twins (84-77)

1978

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Cincinnati Reds (92-69) vs #6 San Diego Padres (84-78)

#4 San Francisco Giants (89-73) vs #5 Pittsburgh Pirates (88-73)

NL Division Series

#1 Los Angeles Dodgers (95-67) vs #4 San Francisco/#5 Pittsburgh

#2 Philadelphia Phillies (90-72) vs #3 Cincinnati/#6 San Diego

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Boston Red Sox (99-63) vs #6 Texas Rangers (87-75)

#4 Milwaukee Brewers (93-69) vs #5 Baltimore Orioles (90-71)

AL Division Series

#1 New York Yankees (99-63) vs #4 Milwaukee/#5 Baltimore

#2 Kansas City Royals (92-70) vs #3 Boston/#6 Texas

Other winning teams: California Angels (87-75), Detroit Tigers (86-76)

1979

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Montreal Expos (95-65) vs #6 Philadelphia Phillies (84-78)

#4 Houston Astros (89-73) vs #5 St. Louis Cardinals (86-76)

NL Division Series

#1 Pittsburgh Pirates (98-64) vs #4 Houston/#5 St. Louis

#2 Cincinnati Reds (90-71) vs #3 Montreal/#6 Philadelphia

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Milwaukee Brewers (95-66) vs #6 Detroit Tigers (85-76)

#4 Boston Red Sox (91-69) vs #5 New York Yankees (89-71)

AL Division Series

#1 Baltimore Orioles (102-57) vs #4 Boston/#5 New York

#2 California Angels (88-74) vs #3 Milwaukee/#6 Detroit

Other winning teams: Kansas City Royals (85-77), Texas Rangers (83-79), Minnesota Twins (82-80), Cleveland Indians (81-80)

1980

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Houston Astros (92-70) vs #6 Pittsburgh Pirates (83-79)

#4 Montreal Expos (90-72) vs #5 Cincinnati Reds (89-73)

NL Division Series

#1 Los Angeles Dodgers (92-70) vs #4 Montreal/#5 Cincinnati

#2 Philadelphia Phillies (91-71) vs #3 Houston/#6 Pittsburgh

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Baltimore Orioles (100-62) vs #6 Detroit Tigers (84-78)

#4 Milwaukee Brewers (86-76) vs #5 Boston Red Sox (83-77)

AL Division Series

#1 New York Yankees (103-59) vs #4 Milwaukee/#5 Boston

#2 Kansas City Royals (97-65) vs #3 Baltimore/#6 Detroit

Other winning teams: Oakland Athletics (83-79), Atlanta Braves (81-80)

1981

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Los Angeles Dodgers (63-47) vs #6 Philadelphia Phillies (59-48)

#4 Houston Astros (61-49) vs #5 Montreal Expos (60-48)

NL Division Series

#1 Cincinnati Reds (66-42) vs #4 Houston/#5 Montreal

#2 St. Louis Cardinals (59-43) vs #3 Los Angeles/#6 Philadelphia

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Baltimore Orioles (59-46) vs #6 Boston Red Sox (59-49)

#4 New York Yankees (59-48) vs #5 Detroit Tigers (60-49)

AL Division Series

#1 Oakland Athletics (64-45) vs #4 New York/#5 Detroit

#2 Milwaukee Brewers (62-47) vs #3 Baltimore/#6 Boston

Other winning teams: Texas Rangers (57-48), Chicago White Sox (54-52), Cleveland Indians (52-51), San Francisco Giants (56-55)

1982

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Philadelphia Phillies (89-73) vs #6 Montreal Expos (86-76)

#4 Los Angeles Dodgers (88-74) vs #5 San Francisco Giants (87-75)

NL Division Series

#1 St. Louis Cardinals (92-70) vs #4 Los Angeles/#5 San Francisco

#2 Atlanta Braves (89-73) vs #4 Philadelphia/#6 Montreal

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Baltimore Orioles (94-68) vs #6 Chicago White Sox (87-75)

#4 Kansas City Royals (90-72) vs #5 Boston Red Sox (89-73)

AL Division Series

#1 Milwaukee Brewers (95-67) vs #4 Kansas City/#5 Boston

#2 California Angels (93-69) vs #3 Baltimore/#6 Chicago

Other winning teams: Pittsburgh Pirates (84-78), Detroit Tigers (83-79)

1983

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Atlanta Braves (88-74) vs #6 Montreal Expos (82-80)

#4 Houston Astros (85-77) vs #5 Pittsburgh Pirates (84-78)

NL Division Series

#1 Los Angeles Dodgers (91-71) vs #4 Houston/#5 Pittsburgh

#2 Philadelphia Phillies (90-72) vs #3 Atlanta/#6 Montreal

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Detroit Tigers (92-70) vs #6 Milwaukee Brewers (87-75)

#4 New York Yankees (91-71) vs #5 Toronto Blue Jays (89-73)

AL Division Series

#1 Chicago White Sox (99-63) vs #4 New York/#5 Toronto

#2 Baltimore Orioles (98-64) vs #3 Detroit/#6 Milwaukee

1984

NL Wild Card Series

#3 New York Mets (90-72) vs #6 Atlanta Braves (80-82)

#4 St. Louis Cardinals (84-78) vs #5 Philadelphia Phillies (81-81)

NL Division Series

#1 Chicago Cubs (96-65) vs #4 St. Louis/#5 Philadelphia

#2 San Diego Padres (92-70) vs #3 New York/#6 Atlanta

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Toronto Blue Jays (89-73) vs #6 Baltimore Orioles (85-77)

#4 New York Yankees (87-75) vs #5 Boston Red Sox (86-76)

AL Division Series

#1 Detroit Tigers (104-58) vs #4 New York/#5 Boston

#2 Kansas City Royals (84-78) vs #3 Toronto/#6 Baltimore

1985

NL Wild Card Series

#3 New York Mets (98-64) vs #6 Houston Astros (83-79)

#4 Cincinnati Reds (89-72) vs #5 Montreal Expos (84-77)

NL Division Series

#1 St. Louis Cardinals (101-61) vs #4 Cincinnati/#5 Montreal

#2 Los Angeles Dodgers (95-67) vs #3 New York/#6 Houston

AL Wild Card Series

#3 New York Yankees (97-64) vs #6 Detroit Tigers (84-77)

#4 California Angels (90-72) vs #5 Chicago White Sox (85-77)

AL Division Series

#1 Toronto Blue Jays (99-62) vs #4 California/#5 Chicago

#2 Kansas City Royals (91-71) vs #3 New York/#6 Detroit

Other winning teams: Baltimore Orioles (83-78), San Diego Padres (83-79)

1986

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Philadelphia Phillies (86-75) vs #6 St. Louis Cardinals (79-82)

#4 Cincinnati Reds (86-76) vs #5 San Francisco Giants (83-79)

NL Division Series

#1 New York Mets (108-54) vs #4 Cincinnati/#5 San Francisco

#2 Houston Astros (96-66) vs #3 Philadelphia/#6 St. Louis

AL Wild Card Series

#3 New York Yankees (90-72) vs #6 Toronto Blue Jays (86-76)

#4 Detroit Tigers (87-75) vs #5 Texas Rangers (87-75)

AL Division Series

#1 Boston Red Sox (95-66) vs #4 Detroit/#5 Texas

#2 California Angels (92-70) vs #3 New York/#6 Toronto

Other winning teams: Cleveland Indians (84-78)

1987

NL Wild Card Series

#3 New York Mets (92-70) vs #6 Philadelphia Phillies (80-82)

#4 Montreal Expos (91-71) vs #5 Cincinnati Reds (84-78)

NL Division Series

#1 St. Louis Cardinals (95-67) vs #4 Montreal/#5 Cincinnati

#2 San Francisco Giants (90-72) vs #3 New York/#6 Philadelphia

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Toronto Blue Jays (96-66) vs #6 Kansas City Royals (83-79)

#4 Milwaukee Brewers (91-71) vs #5 New York Yankees (89-73)

AL Division Series

#1 Detroit Tigers (98-64) vs #4 Milwaukee/#5 New York

#2 Minnesota Twins (85-77) vs #3 Toronto/#6 Kansas City

1988

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Cincinnati Reds (87-74) vs #6 San Francisco Giants (83-79)

#4 Pittsburgh Pirates (85-75) vs #5 San Diego Padres (83-78)

NL Division Series

#1 New York Mets (100-60) vs #4 Pittsburgh/#5 San Diego

#2 Los Angeles Dodgers (94-67) vs #3 Cincinnati/#6 San Francisco

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Minnesota Twins (91-71) vs #6 Toronto Blue Jays (87-75)

#4 Detroit Tigers (88-74) vs #5 Milwaukee Brewers (87-75)

AL Division Series

#1 Oakland Athletics (104-58) vs #4 Detroit/#5 Milwaukee

#2 Boston Red Sox (89-73) vs #3 Minnesota/#6 Toronto

Other winning teams: New York Yankees (85-76), Kansas City Royals (84-77), Houston Astros (82-80)

1989

NL Wild Card Series

#3 San Diego Padres (89-73) vs #6 St. Louis Cardinals (86-76)

#4 New York Mets (87-75) vs #5 Houston Astros (86-76)

NL Division Series

#1 Chicago Cubs (93-69) vs #4 New York/#5 Houston

#2 San Francisco Giants (92-70) vs #3 San Diego/# St. Louis

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Kansas City Royals (92-70) vs #6 Boston Red Sox (83-79)

#4 California Angels (91-71) vs #5 Baltimore Orioles (87-75)

AL Division Series

#1 Oakland Athletics (99-63) vs #4 California/#5 Baltimore

#2 Toronto Blue Jays (89-73) vs #3 Kansas City/#6 Boston

Other winning teams: Texas Rangers (83-79)

1990

NL Wild Card Series

#3 New York Mets (91-71) vs #6 San Francisco Giants (85-77)

#4 Los Angeles Dodgers (86-76) vs #5 Montreal Expos (85-77)

NL Division Series

#1 Pittsburgh Pirates (95-67) vs #4 Los Angeles/#5 Montreal

#2 Cincinnati Reds (91-71) vs #3 New York/#6 San Francisco

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Chicago White Sox (94-68) vs #6 California Angels (80-82)

#4 Toronto Blue Jays (86-76) vs #5 Texas Rangers (83-79)

AL Division Series

#1 Oakland Athletics (103-59) vs #4 Toronto/#5 Texas

#2 Boston Red Sox (88-74) vs #3 Chicago/#6 California

1991

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Los Angeles Dodgers (93-69) vs #6 Philadelphia Phillies (78-84)

#4 San Diego Padres (84-78) vs #5 St. Louis Cardinals (84-78)

NL Division Series

#1 Pittsburgh Pirates (98-64) vs #4 San Diego/#5 St. Louis

#2 Atlanta Braves (94-68) vs #3 Los Angeles/#6 Philadelphia

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Chicago White Sox (87-75) vs #6 Oakland Athletics (84-78)

#4 Texas Rangers (85-77) vs #5 Boston Red Sox (84-78)

AL Division Series

#1 Minnesota Twins (95-67) vs #4 Texas/#5 Boston

#2 Toronto Blue Jays (91-71) vs #3 Chicago/#6 Oakland

Other winning teams: Detroit Tigers (84-78), Milwaukee Brewers (83-79), Seattle Mariners (83-79), Kansas City Royals (82-80)

1992

NL Wild Card Series

#3 Cincinnati Reds (90-72) vs #6 San Diego Padres (82-80)

#4 Montreal Expos (87-75) vs #5 St. Louis Cardinals (83-79)

NL Division Series

#1 Atlanta Braves (98-64) vs #4 Montreal/#5 St. Louis

#2 Pittsburgh Pirates (96-66) vs #3 Cincinnati/#6 San Diego

AL Wild Card Series

#3 Milwaukee Brewers (92-70) vs #6 Chicago White Sox (86-76)

#4 Minnesota Twins (90-72) vs #5 Baltimore Orioles (89-73)

AL Division Series

#1 Oakland Athletics (96-66) vs #4 Minnesota/#5 Baltimore

#2 Toronto Blue Jays (96-66) vs #3 Milwaukee/#6 Chicago

1993

NL Wild Card Series

#3 San Francisco Giants (103-59) vs #6 Houston Astros (85-77)

#4 Montreal Expos (94-68) vs #5 St. Louis Cardinals (87-75)

NL Division Series

#1 Atlanta Braves (104-58) vs #4 Montreal/#5 St. Louis

#2 Philadelphia Phillies (97-65) vs #3 San Francisco/#6 Houston

AL Wild Card Series

#3 New York Yankees (88-74) vs #6 Baltimore Orioles (85-77)

#4 Texas Rangers (86-76) vs #5 Detroit Tigers (85-77)

AL Division Series

#1 Toronto Blue Jays (95-67) vs #4 Texas/#5 Detroit

#2 Chicago White Sox (94-68) vs #3 New York/#6 Baltimore

Other winning teams: Chicago Cubs (84-78), Kansas City Royals (84-78), Seattle Mariners (82-80)

Now that we've done the year-by-year overview, let's take a look at the breakdown for each team:

National League

Atlanta Braves (8 appearances, 5 division titles): 1969*, 1974, 1982*, 1983, 1984, 1991*, 1992*, 1993*

Chicago Cubs (6 appearances, 2 division titles): 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1984*, 1989*

Cincinnati Reds (18 appearances, 8 division titles): 1969, 1970*, 1972*, 1973*, 1974, 1975*, 1976*, 1977, 1978, 1979*, 1980, 1981*, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990*, 1992

Colorado Rockies: none

Florida Marlins: none

Houston Astros (13 appearances, 1 division title): 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986*, 1989, 1993

Los Angeles Dodgers (17 appearances, 7 division titles): 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974*, 1975, 1976, 1977*, 1978*, 1980*, 1981, 1982, 1983*, 1985*, 1988*, 1990, 1991

Montreal Expos (10 appearances, 0 division titles): 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1993

New York Mets (14 appearances, 4 division titles): 1969*, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973*, 1975, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986*, 1987, 1988*, 1989, 1990

Philadelphia Phillies (14 appearances, 6 division titles): 1975, 1976*, 1977*, 1978*, 1979, 1980*, 1981, 1982, 1983*, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1993*

Pittsburgh Pirates (16 appearances, 9 division titles): 1969, 1970*, 1971*, 1972*, 1974*, 1975*, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979*, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1990*, 1991*, 1992*

San Diego Padres (6 appearances, 1 division title): 1978, 1984*, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992

San Francisco Giants (12 appearances, 3 division titles): 1969, 1970, 1971*, 1973, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1987*, 1988, 1989*, 1990, 1993

St. Louis Cardinals (16 appearances, 4 division titles): 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981*, 1982*, 1984, 1985*, 1986, 1987*, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993

American League

Baltimore Orioles (19 appearances, 7 division titles): 1969*, 1970*, 1971*, 1972, 1973*, 1974*, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979*, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983*, 1984, 1989, 1992, 1993

Boston Red Sox (20 appearances, 4 division titles): 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975*, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986*, 1988*, 1989, 1990*, 1991

California Angels (7 appearances, 3 division titles): 1970, 1979*, 1982*, 1985, 1986*, 1989, 1990

Chicago White Sox (9 appearances, 2 division titles): 1972, 1977, 1982, 1983*, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993*

Cleveland Indians (1 appearance, 0 division titles): 1975

Detroit Tigers (14 appearances, 3 division titles): 1969, 1971, 1972*, 1973, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984*, 1985, 1986, 1987*, 1988, 1993

Kansas City Royals (12 appearances, 6 division titles): 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976*, 1977*, 1978*, 1980*, 1982, 1984*, 1985*, 1987, 1989

Milwaukee Brewers (9 appearances, 2 division titles): 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981*, 1982*, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1992

Minnesota Twins (9 appearances, 4 division titles): 1969*, 1970*, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1987*, 1988, 1991*, 1992

New York Yankees (17 appearances, 4 division titles): 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976*, 1977*, 1978*, 1979, 1980*, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993

Oakland Athletics (14 appearances, 10 division titles): 1969, 1970, 1971*, 1972*, 1973*, 1974*, 1975*, 1976, 1981*, 1988*, 1989*, 1990*, 1991, 1992*

Seattle Mariners: none

Texas Rangers/Washington Senators (8 appearances, 0 division titles): 1969, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1993

Toronto Blue Jays (11 appearances, 5 division titles): 1983, 1984, 1985*, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989*, 1990, 1991*, 1992*, 1993*