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Padres possibly not tanking hard enough

By jbox
MLB: San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

There’s been a bit of discussion recently about the Padres record. For a team that’s tanking they’re not doing it well enough. They have 40 wins after 94 games. In 2013, 2014 and 2016 they had 41 wins. This record is standard operating procedure for this ownership group’s reign. The only slight outlier is in 2015 when they had 44 wins.

The fear is that with as bad as this team is they aren’t quite bad enough and they’ll finish in the “Murky Middle” (c. Craig Elsten) in the mid to low seventies at season’s end and maybe the 5th worst record. As much as this fan base has suffered, can we just rip off the Band-Aid suck really bad and get these rebuilding years over with?

The thing is they need bad players and the ones they have may be too good mediocre. There may be three of these players still with the team in 3 years, so there’s not motivation for them to play badly. They all want to be picked up by other teams or stay in the majors as long as possible.

Whether the Padres suck a little or a lot it’s still miserable. I wonder if baseball just changed their draft so it was a random lottery if it would fix itself. Then maybe a third of the teams wouldn’t be tanking for years at a time. I’m too uninterested at the moment to come up with a better solution.

Record after 94 Games

Year Wins in first 94 94 Game Win % Season Wins Season Games Season Win %
Year Wins in first 94 94 Game Win % Season Wins Season Games Season Win %
1969 32 34.04 52 162 32.1
1973 33 35.11 60 162 37.04
1971 33 35.11 61 161 37.89
1981 34 36.17 41 110 37.27
1987 34 36.17 65 162 40.12
2003 35 37.23 64 162 39.51
1993 36 38.3 61 162 37.65
1972 36 38.3 58 153 37.91
1970 37 39.36 63 162 38.89
2008 37 39.36 63 162 38.89
1994 37 39.36 47 117 40.17
2009 37 39.36 75 162 46.3
2002 38 40.43 66 162 40.74
1980 38 40.43 73 163 44.79
2012 39 41.49 76 162 46.91
1974 40 42.55 60 162 37.04
2017 40 42.55 40 94 42.55
1977 40 42.55 69 162 42.59
2011 40 42.55 71 162 43.83
1990 40 42.55 75 162 46.3
2016 41 43.62 68 162 41.98
2013 41 43.62 76 162 46.91
2014 41 43.62 77 162 47.53
1979 42 44.68 68 161 42.24
2000 42 44.68 76 162 46.91
1975 43 45.74 71 162 43.83
1997 43 45.74 76 162 46.91
1988 43 45.74 83 161 51.55
2015 44 46.81 74 162 45.68
2001 44 46.81 79 162 48.77
1995 45 47.87 70 144 48.61
1978 45 47.87 84 162 51.85
1991 45 47.87 84 162 51.85
1976 46 48.94 73 162 45.06
1986 46 48.94 74 162 45.68
1989 46 48.94 89 162 54.94
1999 48 51.06 74 162 45.68
1983 48 51.06 81 163 49.69
1996 48 51.06 91 162 56.17
1992 50 53.19 82 162 50.62
2005 50 53.19 82 162 50.62
2006 50 53.19 88 162 54.32
1982 52 55.32 81 162 50
1985 52 55.32 83 162 51.23
2004 52 55.32 87 162 53.7
2007 53 56.38 89 163 54.6
2010 55 58.51 90 162 55.56
1984 55 58.51 92 162 56.79
1998 60 63.83 98 162 60.49

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