The Orioles lost 115 games this year, but they werent alone in their ineptne s. The Royals (104 lo ses) and White Sox (100) hit triple digits in the L column, too, and a total of eight teams dropped at least 95 games this season

Eight. Yikes.

Its the first time in MLB history that at least eight teams have lost 95 games in the same season. In 2017, only four teams lost at least 95, and nobody reached 100. In 2016, the Twins (103 lo ses) were the only team to lose more than 94. Were not here to talk about why so many teams lost so many games, but to talk about how all those lo ses impacted the 2018 season.

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With all those teams playing bad baseball, wins were more readily available. Some teams took advantage, and some didnt. Some teams had more opportunities because of how their schedules set up.The AL Central had three teams in the 95-plus club, with the Tigers (98 lo ses) joining Brian Goodwin Jersey the Royals and White Sox. In the AL West, the Rangers dropped 95. The NL had one in each division: The Marlins (98 lo ses) in the East, the Reds (95) in the Central and the Padres (96) in the West.

So which teams benefited? Lets dive into the numbers.

Well start here: Because the Royals, White Sox and Tigers all lost at least 98 and all play in the same division, Cleveland and Minnesota had by far the most opportunities.

Cleveland played 76 timesagainst teams that lost at least 95 games and 86 against teams that didnt lose at least 95. The difference in performance for the AL Central champs was stark:

52-24 (.684) vs. teams with 95-plus lo ses39-47 (.470) vs. teams that didnt lose 95-plus

Yeah. Yikes. If youre curious, Cleveland went just 11-16 vs. the other four AL playoff teams.

The other team in the AL Central, the Twins, played 73 games against the group of eight, and they won 42 times. Big percentage difference, too.

42-31 (.560) vs. teams with 95-plus lo ses36-53 (.405) Jonathan Lucroy Jersey vs. teams that didnt lose 95-plus

Now lets look at which teams did the best, percentage-wise, against the 95-plus club.

1. Athletics, 39-11 (.780)2. Red Sox, 38-11 (.776)3. Astros, 37-11 (.771)

Super impre sive. The teams that finished with the best two records in baseball (Boston and Houston) and the team that came from nowhere to claim a surprising spot in October. Want to know one of the secrets to the As amazing run to the playoffs? They beat the snot out of baseballs bad teams. And, yeah, it mattered. They wound up with a record of 97-65, which was seven games ahead of the Rays (90-72) in the wild-card standings and eight ahead of the Mariners (89-73. Lets compare how those three teams did vs. the 95-plus club.

1. Athletics Matt Harvey Jersey , 39-11 (.780) 2. Mariners, 29-20 (.591), 9.5 games back3. Rays, 27-19 (.587),10 games back

Huh. If the results were reversed if, say, the Mariners played .780 ball against the worst teams in baseball and the As played .591 ball Seattle would have ended its playoff drought. Same goes for the Rays and As. The difference was Oakland beat the teams it needed to beat, as many times as po sible, and the other two teams didnt.

But beating up on the bad teams didnt guarantee a date in the postseason. After the As, Red Sox and Astros, the next three best winning percentages against the 95-plus club belonged to teams that didnt even come close to making October.

Pirates, 33-11 (.750)Nationals, 28-10 (.736)Angels, 36-13 (.735)

Those three teams failed to reach October because they just werent very good against anyone else.

Pirates (82-79 overall)33-11 (.750) vs. teams with 95-plus lo ses49-68 (.419) vs. teams that didnt lose 95-plus

Nationals (82-80 overall)28-10 (.736) vs. teams with 95-plus lo ses54-70 (.436) vs. teams that didnt lose 95-plus

Angels (80-82 overall)36-13 (.735) vs. teams with 95-plus lo ses44-69 (.389) vs. teams that didnt lose 95-plus

Yep. Ugly.

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Remember how the Red Brandon Phillips Jersey Sox posted a .776 winning percentage against the 95-plus club? They finished eight games ahead of the Yankees (100-62) in the AL East. The Yankees didnt fare nearly as well against the 95-plus club.

Red Sox, 38-11 (.776), Yankees, 31-19 (.620), 7.5 games back

Huh. How would have September been different if the Yankees had played better against teams like the Orioles, Tigers, Marlins and Rangers earlier in the season? The Red Sox wouldnt have been able to cruise to a stre s-free September and the Yankees wouldnt have had to worry about losing home-field advantage in the wild-card game, thats for sure.

Anyway, thats enough examples from me. Heres the team-by-team breakdown of how every squad did against the 95-plus club, ranked by winning percentage.

1. Athletics, 39-11 (.780)Breakdown: 5-1 vs. Orioles, 5-2 vs. White Sox, 7-0 vs. Tigers Yunel Escobar Jersey , 5-2 vs. Royals, 4-0 vs. Padres, 13-6 vs. Rangers2. Red Sox, 38-11 (.776)Breakdown: 16-3 vs. Orioles, 3-4 vs. White Sox, 4-2 vs. Tigers, 5-1 vs. Royals, 4-0 vs. Marlins, 6-1 vs. Rangers3. Astros, 37-11 (.771)Breakdown: 6-1 vs. Orioles, 7-0 vs. White Sox, 5-1 vs. Tigers, 5-1 vs. Royals, 2-1 vs. Padres, 12-7 vs. Rangers4. Pirates, 33-11 (.750)Breakdown: 4-0 vs. White Sox, 14-5 vs. Reds, 5-1 vs. Tigers, 3-0 vs. Royals, 4-1 vs. Marlins, 3-4 vs. Padres5. Nationals, 28-10 (.736)Breakdown: 5-1 vs. Orioles, 6-1 vs. Reds, 13-6 vs. Marlins, 4-2 vs. Padres6. Angels, 36-13 (.735)Breakdown: 5-1 vs. Orioles, 5-2 vs. White Sox, 4-3 vs. Tigers, 6-1 vs. Royals, 13-6 vs. Rangers, 3-0 vs. Padres7. Brewers, 29-13 (.691)Breakdown: 1-2 vs. White Sox, 13-6 vs. Reds, 3-0 vs. Tigers, 3-1 vs. Royals, 5-2 vs. Marlins, 4-2 vs. Padres8. Indians, 52-24 (.684)Breakdown: 5-2 vs. Orioles, 14-5 vs. White Sox, 4-2 vs Ian Kinsler Jersey . Reds, 13-6 vs. Tigers 12-7 vs. Royals, 4-2 vs. Rangers9. Cubs, 30-16 (.652)Breakdown: 4-2 vs. White Sox, 11-8 vs. Reds, 3-1 vs. Tigers, 2-1 vs. Royals, 5-2 vs. Marlins, 5-2 vs. Padres10. Blue Jays, 31-17 (.646)Breakdown: 14-5 vs. Orioles, 4-2 vs. White Sox, 3-4 vs. Tigers, 5-2 vs. Royals, 2-1 vs. Marlins, 3-3 vs. Rangers11. Diamondbacks, 23-13 (.639)Breakdown: 3-3 vs. Reds, 6-1 vs. Marlins, 12-7 vs. Padres, 2-2 vs. Rangers12. Braves, 22-13 (.629)Breakdown: 1-2 vs. Orioles, 3-3 vs. Reds, 14-5 vs. Marlins, 4-3 vs. Padres13. Yankees, 31-19 (.620)