Worst teams of 1981-1985
Two '81 clubs sink to the bottom, with the Jays slightly worse than the Twins
Almost everyone in the major leagues wanted to forget the 1981 season.
A two-month strike interrupted the schedule between mid-June and mid-August, and the subsequent resumption was ragged and disorganized. No effort was made to standardize the schedule, so teams played anywhere from 103 to 111 games. A confusing multi-tiered playoff system was cobbled together, ending the year on a discouraging note.
So, yes, everybody had cause to develop selective amnesia about the trauma of 1981.
The Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins had especially good reasons to opt for forgetfulness. They collectively won only 78 games in that strike-plagued season, while they lost 137. And they rank as the two worst clubs to take the field during the half-decade from 1981 through 1985, based on my calculations of team scores. (Click here to learn about the TS formula.)
The Jays were slightly more terrible, as indicated by their score of 13.370 on the 100-point TS scale. The Twins came next at 16.267 points.
Rounding out the list of the worst clubs during the 1981-1985 span are the 1983 New York Mets, 1983 Seattle Mariners, and 1982 Twins.
Scroll downward to see a list of the bottom 10 teams of the half-decade. Each is shown with its win-loss record and the percentage of Modern Era clubs that it outperformed. (TS is plotted on an equalized scale, which allows direct comparisons of teams from different years. A total of 1,656 big-league clubs have played in the era, which began in 1961.) Team scores and additional information are provided for the five squads that were the very worst.
If you’re curious about the previous rankings in this series, follow these links to see the lowest-rated teams from 1961-1965, 1966-1970, 1971-1975, and 1976-1980. Or perhaps you’re more interested in my ratings of the best clubs in the period under discussion today. If so, click this 1981-1985 link.
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1. Toronto Blue Jays (1981)
Record: 37-69
Team score: 13.370 points
Modern Era percentile: 1.5%
Manager: Bobby Mattick
Stars: Pitcher Dave Stieb paced Toronto’s staff with an 11-10 record and a 3.19 earned run average. First baseman John Mayberry led the team with 17 home runs and 43 RBIs in a strike-shortened season.
Bottom line: The Jays suffered a losing streak of unusual length, stretching from late May to mid-August, though there was a catch. Players went on strike on June 12, at which point Toronto had lost 11 straight games. The Jays returned two months later to a 12th straight defeat before finally winning on August 11. Toronto’s winning percentage of .349 was the worst in the majors in 1981.
2. Minnesota Twins (1981)
Record: 41-68
Team score: 16.267 points
Modern Era percentile: 2.6%
Manager: Johnny Goryl and Billy Gardner
Stars: Center fielder Mickey Hatcher led the Twins in doubles (23) and runs batted in (37). Third baseman John Castino had the most hits (102) and highest batting average (.268) on the club. Closer Doug Corbett racked up 17 saves in 54 appearances.
Bottom line: The Twins lost 35 of their first 50 games in 1981, yet they still were slightly better than the aforementioned Blue Jays. Minnesota’s winning percentage of .376 was certainly miserable, yet it exceeded Toronto’s by 27 points.
3. New York Mets (1983)
Record: 68-94
Team score: 17.063 points
Modern Era percentile: 3.0%
Manager: George Bamberger and Frank Howard
Stars: First baseman Keith Hernandez arrived from St. Louis in a June trade. He batted .306 for the Mets in 95 games. Left fielder George Foster topped the team with 28 homers and 90 RBIs. Pitcher Tom Seaver went 9-14 after being dealt back to the Mets by the Cincinnati Reds.
Bottom line: The Mets were powerless in 1983. Their slugging average of .344 was the worst in the majors, falling 12 percent below the year’s norm of .389. New York dropped into last place in the National League East in late May and never climbed any higher.
4. Seattle Mariners (1983)
Record: 60-102
Team score: 17.114 points
Modern Era percentile: 3.1%
Manager: Rene Lachemann and Del Crandall
Stars: Pitchers Matt Young and Jim Beattie somehow reached double digits in victories, respectively winning 11 and 10 games. Left fielder Steve Henderson batted a solid .294. First baseman Pat Putnam topped the M’s with 19 homers and 67 runs batted in.
Bottom line: The Mariners entered the season with optimism. They had climbed to fourth place in 1982, the best finish in their six-year history. But they plummeted back to the basement of the American League West in 1983, lagging 39 games behind first-place Chicago.
5. Minnesota Twins (1982)
Record: 60-102
Team score: 17.191 points
Modern Era percentile: 3.2%
Manager: Billy Gardner
Stars: First baseman Kent Hrbek finished second in the race for the AL’s Rookie of the Year Award. He batted .301 with 23 homers and 92 RBIs. Right fielder Tom Brunansky had the club’s best on-base percentage (.377). Starting pitcher Bobby Castillo went 13-11.
Bottom line: A 14-game losing streak from mid-May to early June 1982 cemented the Twins’ hold on last place in the American League West. They finished 33 games behind the divisional champions, the California Angels.
Next five
6. San Francisco Giants (1984), 66-96, 3.4%
7. Chicago Cubs (1981), 38-65, 3.8%
8. Cincinnati Reds (1982), 61-101, 4.1%
9. New York Mets (1982), 65-97, 4.2%
10. Cleveland Indians (1985), 60-102, 4.6%