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On the heels of Sami’s article yesterday about the Giants’ poor start to Spring Training, I decided to ask myself a stupid question that I knew would unequivocally not be worth the work it took to answer. The question was this: how have teams that have had Spring Training starts as bad as the Giants’ start fared in the regular season? I asked myself this question and committed to doing research to find out the answer despite the fact that I was pretty sure it was totally irrelevant.
I figured that I should look into the ultimate results of every team (since 2002, since that’s what we have records for) to have lost 8 games in Spring Training before winning 4. Why those numbers? Because the Giants are 3-8, and I didn’t want to treat ties as either wins or losses. Do you have a better way? Congratulations. I’m very happy for you and I wish you all the best with that.
Anyway, here’s the stupid table I made of dumb information that I shouldn’t have put any effort into trying to find out:
| Year | Team | Spring Training Record | Regular season wins |
| 2011 | Diamondbacks | (3-8) | 94 |
| 2012 | Diamondbacks | (3-9-1) | 81 |
| 2012 | Braves | (1-10) | 94 |
| 2014 | Braves | (2-9-3) | 79 |
| 2015 | Braves | (3-8-1) | 67 |
| 2016 | Braves | (3-10-1) | 68 |
| 2006 | Orioles | (2-8) | 70 |
| 2010 | Orioles | (2-8) | 66 |
| 2015 | Orioles | (3-11) | 81 |
| 2016 | Orioles | (3-12-3) | 89 |
| 2006 | Red Sox | (3-11) | 86 |
| 2008 | Red Sox | (3-8) | 95 |
| 2015 | Cubs | (1-8-1) | 97 |
| 2016 | Cubs | (3-10-1) | 103 |
| 2006 | White Sox | (3-13) | 90 |
| 2007 | White Sox | (3-10) | 72 |
| 2012 | White Sox | (3-10) | 85 |
| 2013 | Reds | (2-11) | 90 |
| 2006 | Rockies | (3-8) | 76 |
| 2009 | Rockies | (0-8) | 92 |
| 2009 | Tigers | (3-8) | 86 |
| 2009 | Astros | (3-16-4) | 74 |
| 2011 | Astros | (3-10) | 56 |
| 2010 | Angels | (3-10-2) | 80 |
| 2013 | Angels | (3-11-3) | 78 |
| 2007 | Marlins | (3-10-2) | 71 |
| 2007 | Twins | (2-8-1) | 79 |
| 2007 | Mets | (3-8) | 88 |
| 2012 | Mets | (3-11-1) | 74 |
| 2003 | Yankees | (3-9) | 101 |
| 2013 | Yankees | (3-11) | 85 |
| 2016 | Yankees | (3-8-2) | 84 |
| 2006 | A's | (3-8) | 93 |
| 2014 | Phillies | (3-10-2) | 73 |
| 2003 | Pirates | (3-8) | 75 |
| 2004 | Pirates | (3-10) | 72 |
| 2007 | Pirates | (3-8-1) | 68 |
| 2008 | Pirates | (3-8) | 67 |
| 2016 | Pirates | (3-8-1) | 78 |
| 2003 | Padres | (3-9-2) | 64 |
| 2009 | Padres | (3-8-3) | 75 |
| 2010 | Padres | (2-8) | 90 |
| 2016 | Padres | (3-9-1) | 68 |
| 2004 | Giants | (3-9-1) | 91 |
| 2008 | Giants | (3-10-1) | 72 |
| 2015 | Giants | (3-10-1) | 84 |
| 2005 | Mariners | (2-8) | 69 |
| 2007 | Mariners | (2-11) | 88 |
| 2007 | Devil Rays | (2-16) | 66 |
| 2012 | Rangers | (3-10-1) | 93 |
| 2014 | Rangers | (3-10-3) | 67 |
| 2006 | Blue Jays | (3-8) | 87 |
| 2006 | Nationals | (3-13-1) | 71 |
| 2007 | Nationals | (3-8) | 73 |
| 2010 | Nationals | (0-11) | 69 |
Some notes:
- The same number of teams on this list won 90 or more as won 70 or less.
- The Pirates spent a long time being hopeless in Spring Training! That’s not relevant to my point, but still, wow.
- 25 teams were over .500 during the year, 2 were .500, and the other 28 were under .500. Pretty even mix, as if all the current losing doesn’t actually mean anything.
- The only World Series winner to make the list is last year’s Cubs, but there were a couple others that started out 3-7, which under the stringent criteria of the list, meant they did not qualify. Please do not take this as a sign that the 2016 Cubs were the only World Series winning team to have had a poor start to their Spring Training.
- The only World Series loser to make the list is the 2003 Yankees, and man, they won 101 games?
- Steve Finley is the goddamn devil.
I hope this article diverted your attention for one or more enjoyable minutes. Please enjoy the rest of your day.