Sitting at 91-68 entering the last series of the regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers have won 90 or more games in consecutive years for the first time since 1977 and 1978, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Such statistics are typically reserved for the dregs of the league, yet the Dodgers are viewed in quite the opposite fashion, widely regarded as one of baseball's flagship franchises.
As one might expect, the Dodgers have mostly been a successful team over the last 36 seasons, but haven't been consistent from year-to-year, and have frequently settled in as merely above-average.
Since '78, the franchise has 11 90-win campaigns and only seven sub-.500 seasons, with 12 playoff appearances (including the upcoming one) in 35 chances. The span has also included a pair of World Series triumphs; first in the strike-shortened 1981 campaign, and then again in 1988, when Kirk Gibson hit his memorable home run.
The Dodgers have finished between 82 and 89 wins 12 times in the last 36 seasons, including eight times from 2000 to 2012
Unsurprisingly, the stretch of good-but-not-greatness has not featured a 100-win team, with 95 wins apiece in 1985 and 2009 representing the franchise's high-water mark since '78.
For a franchise that now goes back 131 years, none of the top 26 campaigns in terms of winning percentage have occurred since '78.
While perhaps viewed as just slightly disappointing, this year's uber-talented Dodgers squad has already clinched the National League West, and only sits two games behind the 92-65 Washington Nationals for the top seed in the playoffs
At the time of writing, the Nationals are preparing for the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the New York Mets, with another doubleheader scheduled for Friday versus the Miami Marlins.
If the Nats slip up, the Dodgers could find themselves with the top spot, though the No. 2 seed is still a far more likely outcome. The Dodgers' remaining schedule consists of a three-game home series against the Colorado Rockies.
//from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1Bdlbyu
via IFTTT September 25, 2014 at 03:01PM
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