Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Ways August and September Could Wreck the Playoffs
August 12, 2011 by William Tronoski
Filed under Fan News
The Philadelphia Phillies are on track to finish with the best regular season record in MLB, but that won’t matter once the playoffs start.
Actually, it could be a problem.
Consider these facts, based on an analysis of the 16 years since MLB introduced the wild-card format:
– The team with the best record in MLB made the World Series in 7 of 16 years, winning only 3 times
– The team with the American League’s best record made the World Series in 7 of 16 years
– The team with the National League’s best record made the World Series in 3 of 16 years
– The teams with the best record in each league made the World Series in the same year only twice (in 1999 and 1995)
The bottom line—for playoff teams, what happens during the last few months of the season matters more than regular season record. Teams win the World Series because they have momentum, a healthy and hot lineup, and great matchups.
For the Phillies, August and September are all about avoiding these five worst-case scenarios.