Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Beginning in mid-August the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers started collapsing, leaving the Braves, the Reds, and the San Francisco Giants in contention. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. MLB standings, wild card race, updated Major League Baseball records and playoff standings. Some defensive statistics Copyright © Baseball Info Solutions, 2010-2020. The owners were concerned about putting those teams in the same division, thereby creating one very strong division (West) and one weak one (East). With one more win, the Tampa Bay Rays can celebrate a division title 10 years in the making. There was the addition of two further teams in the playoffs in each league. Or write about sports? Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. In the previous two seasons prior to realignment, the Cardinals, Giants, and Cubs finished 1-2-3 in the National League standings. § - Due to the players' strike starting August 12, no official winner was awarded. † - Due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike, the season was split. Find out more. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. In the National League West, five of the teams battled for the divisional championship - with only the expansion team, the San Diego Padres, failing to be a contender. All of this increased the traveling distances and times for all of the teams, and it also made radio broadcasting and TV broadcasts of the games more difficult to schedule. Subscribe to our Free Newsletter, This Month in Sports ReferenceFind out when we add a feature or make a change. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Friday, September 25, 7:04AM. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. EN. The league could have insisted on a purely geographical alignment like the American League did. Most Valuable Player Award, and the starting pitcher Phil Niekro finished in second place for the N.L. Get the MLB schedule, scores, standings, rumors, fantasy games and more on NBCSports.com. Aaron finished in third place for the N.L. The official source for NFL news, video highlights, fantasy football, game-day coverage, schedules, stats, scores and more.