The fans in Detroit have known the best of times.
The 1984 Tigers piled up 104 regular-season wins and a World Series title, earning a team score of 97.109 points on a 100-point scale. That’s the highest TS registered by any of the 1,626 big-league clubs since 1961, making that version of the Tigers the greatest team of the Modern Era, bar none.
But the people of Detroit have also known the worst of times.
The 1996 Tigers were pathetically bad, as evidenced by their TS of 5.197 points. That edition of Detroit’s ballclub sits 1,626th — dead last — in the same rankings.
No other franchise has experienced such extremes in the Modern Era. But every team has endured its share of highs and lows. We dealt with the former on Tuesday, offering a club-by-club rundown of the best TS performances since 1961. Today’s report focuses on the flip side, each franchise’s worst score in the same period.
A quick refresher: Team score is determined by a formula that gives equal weight to four factors: winning percentage, the differential between runs scored and allowed per game, the differential between bases per out (BPO) attained by batters and allowed by pitchers, and postseason success.
The clubs listed below didn’t do well in any of those categories, which is why they dipped to low ebb in their respective histories. Each capsule contains a club’s win-loss record (with winning percentage in parentheses), its team score, the percentage of the era’s other 1,625 teams that it outperformed, its per-game averages for runs scored and allowed, and the distance by which it trailed the frontrunner in its division or league (expressed in games behind).
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Arizona Diamondbacks
Worst season: 2004
Record: 51-111 (.315)
Team score: 10.445 points
Era percentile: 0.7%
Runs per game: 3.80 scored, 5.55 allowed
Games behind: 42.0 in NL West
Atlanta Braves
Also known as: Milwaukee Braves
Worst season: 1988
Record: 54-106 (.338)
Team score: 12.913 points
Era percentile: 1.3%
Runs per game: 3.47 scored, 4.63 allowed
Games behind: 39.5 in NL West
Baltimore Orioles
Worst season: 1988
Record: 54-107 (.335)
Team score: 9.850 points
Era percentile: 0.4%
Runs per game: 3.42 scored, 4.90 allowed
Games behind: 34.5 in AL East
Boston Red Sox
Worst season: 2020
Record: 24-36 (.400)
Team score: 26.276 points
Era percentile: 12.2%
Runs per game: 4.87 scored, 5.85 allowed
Games behind: 16.0 in AL East
Chicago Cubs
Worst season: 1981
Record: 38-65 (.369)
Team score: 17.954 points
Era percentile: 3.9%
Runs per game: 3.49 scored, 4.56 allowed
Games behind: 21.5 in NL East
Chicago White Sox
Worst season: 1970
Record: 56-106 (.346)
Team score: 17.195 points
Era percentile: 3.3%
Runs per game: 3.91 scored, 5.07 allowed
Games behind: 42.0 in AL West
Cincinnati Reds
Worst season: 1982
Record: 61-101 (.377)
Team score: 18.446 points
Era percentile: 4.1%
Runs per game: 3.36 scored, 4.08 allowed
Games behind: 28.0 in NL West
Cleveland Guardians
Also known as: Cleveland Indians
Worst season: 1991
Record: 57-105 (.352)
Team score: 9.976 points
Era percentile: 0.5%
Runs per game: 3.56 scored, 4.69 allowed
Games behind: 34.0 in AL East
Colorado Rockies
Worst season: 2005
Record: 67-95 (.414)
Team score: 21.032 points
Era percentile: 6.0%
Runs per game: 4.57 scored, 5.32 allowed
Games behind: 15.0 in NL West
Detroit Tigers
Worst season: 1996
Record: 53-109 (.327)
Team score: 5.197 points
Era percentile: 0.0%
Runs per game: 4.83 scored, 6.81 allowed
Games behind: 39.0 in AL East
Houston Astros
Also known as: Houston Colt .45s
Worst season: 2013
Record: 51-111 (.315)
Team score: 10.531 points
Era percentile: 0.9%
Runs per game: 3.77 scored, 5.23 allowed
Games behind: 45.0 in AL West
Kansas City Royals
Worst season: 2005
Record: 56-106 (.346)
Team score: 10.715 points
Era percentile: 0.9%
Runs per game: 4.33 scored, 5.77 allowed
Games behind: 43.0 in AL Central
Los Angeles Angels
Also known as: California Angels, Anaheim Angels
Worst season: 1994
Record: 47-68 (.409)
Team score: 22.973 points
Era percentile: 7.9%
Runs per game: 4.72 scored, 5.74 allowed
Games behind: 5.5 in AL West
Los Angeles Dodgers
Worst season: 1992
Record: 63-99 (.389)
Team score: 23.311 points
Era percentile: 8.5%
Runs per game: 3.38 scored, 3.93 allowed
Games behind: 35.0 in NL West
Miami Marlins
Also known as: Florida Marlins
Worst season: 1998
Record: 54-108 (.333)
Team score: 12.978 points
Era percentile: 1.4%
Runs per game: 4.12 scored, 5.70 allowed
Games behind: 52.0 in NL East
Milwaukee Brewers
Also known as: Seattle Pilots
Worst season: 2002
Record: 56-106 (.346)
Team score: 15.584 points
Era percentile: 2.2%
Runs per game: 3.87 scored, 5.07 allowed
Games behind: 41.0 in NL Central
Minnesota Twins
Worst season: 2016
Record: 59-103 (.364)
Team score: 15.628 points
Era percentile: 2.3%
Runs per game: 4.46 scored, 5.49 allowed
Games behind: 35.5 in AL Central
New York Mets
Worst season: 1963
Record: 51-111 (.315)
Team score: 8.162 points
Era percentile: 0.2%
Runs per game: 3.09 scored, 4.78 allowed
Games behind: 48.0 in NL
New York Yankees
Worst season: 1990
Record: 67-95 (.414)
Team score: 17.305 points
Era percentile: 3.4%
Runs per game: 3.72 scored, 4.62 allowed
Games behind: 21.0 in AL East
Oakland Athletics
Also known as: Kansas City Athletics
Worst season: 1979
Record: 54-108 (.333)
Team score: 11.385 points
Era percentile: 1.1%
Runs per game: 3.54 scored, 5.31 allowed
Games behind: 34.0 in AL West
Philadelphia Phillies
Worst season: 1961
Record: 47-107 (.305)
Team score: 8.887 points
Era percentile: 0.3%
Runs per game: 3.77 scored, 5.14 allowed
Games behind: 46.0 in NL
Pittsburgh Pirates
Worst season: 2010
Record: 57-105 (.352)
Team score: 7.550 points
Era percentile: 0.1%
Runs per game: 3.62 scored, 5.35 allowed
Games behind: 34.0 in NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals
Worst season: 1995
Record: 62-81 (.434)
Team score: 25.262 points
Era percentile: 10.2%
Runs per game: 3.94 scored, 4.60 allowed
Games behind: 22.5 in NL Central
San Diego Padres
Worst season: 1973
Record: 60-102 (.370)
Team score: 10.185 points
Era percentile: 0.6%
Runs per game: 3.38 scored, 4.75 allowed
Games behind: 39.0 in NL West
San Francisco Giants
Worst season: 1984
Record: 66-96 (.407)
Team score: 17.387 points
Era percentile: 3.5%
Runs per game: 4.21 scored, 4.98 allowed
Games behind: 26.0 in NL West
Seattle Mariners
Worst season: 2008
Record: 61-101 (.377)
Team score: 14.853 points
Era percentile: 1.9%
Runs per game: 4.14 scored, 5.01 allowed
Games behind: 39.0 in AL West
Tampa Bay Rays
Also known as: Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Worst season: 2006
Record: 61-101 (.377)
Team score: 18.251 points
Era percentile: 4.0%
Runs per game: 4.25 scored, 5.28 allowed
Games behind: 36.0 in AL East
Texas Rangers
Also known as: Washington Senators
Worst season: 1972
Record: 54-100 (.351)
Team score: 11.812 points
Era percentile: 1.2%
Runs per game: 2.99 scored, 4.08 allowed
Games behind: 38.5 in AL West
Toronto Blue Jays
Worst season: 1981
Record: 37-69 (.349)
Team score: 13.370 points
Era percentile: 1.5%
Runs per game: 3.10 scored, 4.40 allowed
Games behind: 23.5 in AL East
Washington Nationals
Also known as: Montreal Expos
Worst season: 1969
Record: 52-110 (.321)
Team score: 15.677 points
Era percentile: 2.4%
Runs per game: 3.59 scored, 4.88 allowed
Games behind: 48.0 in NL East