Rangers or Astros Will Make MLB History by Winning AL West

Reaching the postseason is a badge of honor in any sport. It's one step closer to realizing a championship. Both the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros know that all too well.

The Rangers won their first world championship in 2023, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series. The Astros are one up on the Rangers. They won World Series titles in 2017 and 2022.

You can't win a championship if you don't make the postseason, as they say. Either the Rangers or the Astros will make the playoffs. There's only one berth left and the American League and it will belong to the AL West champion. Whichever one claims it will also carve out a piece of Major League history.

How the Rangers or Astros Can Make History

Houston Astros catcher Christian Vázquez raises his hands in the air in celebration after a hit. — Houston Astros catcher Christian Vázquez. Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Rangers and the Astros enter Friday's action tied for the division lead. They both have a record of 79-80. And that's the historic part. Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required) dug into baseball-reference.com on Friday and learned that no team in Major League history has ever been below .500 through 159 games and made the postseason.

Since there's only one berth left and it belongs to the AL West champion, one of these teams will make history. In fact, they may do it at .500 or worse. A .500 record is 81-81 and both are on the doorstep of falling short.

The AL West has seen a worse race, even though it’s not official. In fact, the Astros weren’t in the AL yet.

In 1994 the season ended on August 11. That's when MLB players struck after the expiration of the league's collective bargaining agreement after the 1993 season. Negotiations had broken down and the players decided to use the leverage of the upcoming postseason to try and strike a new deal. It didn't work.

In shades of the offseason ahead, MLB owners wanted a salary cap and the players didn't. Eventually, MLB called the season. For the first time since 1904, there was no World Series. And there were no official division champions either.

At the time of the strike the Rangers led the AL West. They had a one-game lead on the Athletics, a two—game lead on the Seattle Mariners and a 5.5 game lead on the then-California Angels. It was a tight race. But it was not compelling.

The Rangers may have led the division, but they were 52-62. Texas led a division in which it was 10 games under .500.

As one might expect, the leaders of the other two divisions had better records. But here's some perspective. Every team in the AL East and the AL Central had a better winning percentage than the Rangers at the strike.

The last-place team in the East, the Detroit Tigers, and the Central, the Milwaukee Brewers, were both 53-62 with a .461 winning percentage. The Rangers were sitting at .456.

It won't be that bad this time around, but one of these teams will be crowned official champions by Sunday. MLB executives must be quietly hoping one of them is at least .500, if not one game better. Either way, history will be made. The Rangers hope they're the ones to make it.

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