With just a few days left in the regular season, the AL West could make a unique kind of baseball history. After Tuesday night's games, the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros were tied for first place at 78-79. No full-season division champion has ever had a losing record. In fact, no team has made the postseason with a sub-.500 record, unless you count a few exceptions from years when the playoffs were expanded. In the 2020 season, shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, both Milwaukee and Houston made the playoffs with 29-31 records. In 1981, the Kansas City Royals had a 50-53 overall record, but they were the top team in the second half of the season after a players' strike, which allowed them to qualify. Since 2022, when the postseason expanded to 12 teams, it's become more likely that a sub-.500 team could make the playoffs. A few weeks ago, it seemed possible that multiple teams in the American League would have losing records in the postseason, but the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox have since improved their records. However, the AL West title race might still result in a team with a losing mark. In honor of this possibility, here are 10 of the weakest teams to make the postseason, listed in chronological order with their records and run differentials. Some of these teams went on to have long postseason runs, so don't count out the Rangers or Astros just yet. The 1973 New York Mets went 82-79 to win the NL East with a run differential of 20. They beat Cincinnati 3-2 in the NLCS but lost to Oakland 4-3 in the World Series. The Mets made a dramatic late-season push, going 21-8 after being in last place. Tom Seaver was at the peak of his career, and the team was known for a famous brawl between Bud Harrelson and Pete Rose in the NLCS. The 1984 Kansas City Royals went 84-78 to win the AL West with a run differential of minus-13. They lost to Detroit 3-0 in the ALCS. The Royals had a tough season, finishing 11 games under .500 in July, but they made it to the playoffs. George Brett had his worst season statistically, but the team improved the following year and won the World Series. The 1987 Minnesota Twins went 85-77 to win the AL West with a run differential of minus-20. They beat Detroit 4-1 in the ALCS and St. Louis 4-3 in the World Series. Despite a weak pitching staff, the Twins had a strong offense with players like Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek. They had home-field advantage in both playoff series despite finishing behind their opponents in the regular season. The 1995 Colorado Rockies went 77-67 to win the NL wild card with a run differential of 2. They lost 3-1 to Atlanta in the NLDS. This was the first wild card team in NL history, and the Rockies had a poor ERA but led the league in runs. Dante Bichette was a standout with 35 home runs and 114 RBIs. The 2005 San Diego Padres went 82-80 to win the NL West with a run differential of minus-42. They lost 3-0 to St. Louis in the NLDS. The Padres had a weak offense and pitching staff, and they never led in any of their playoff games against the 100-win Cardinals. The 2006 St. Louis Cardinals went 83-78 to win the NL Central with a run differential of 19. They beat San Diego, New York, and Detroit to win the World Series. Despite a late-season scare, the Cardinals had a strong team with Albert Pujols and Adam Wainwright. The 2017 Minnesota Twins went 85-77 to win the AL wild card with a run differential of 27. They lost to the Yankees in the wild card game. After a 103-loss season, the Twins made a late push to qualify for the playoffs but fell short against the Yankees. The 2023 Miami Marlins went 84-78 to win the NL wild card with a run differential of minus-57. They lost 2-0 to Philadelphia in the NL Wild Card Series. The Marlins had a weak offense but strong pitching, and they went 33-14 in one-run games. The 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks went 84-78 to win the NL wild card with a run differential of minus-15. They beat Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia to reach the World Series. Despite a negative run differential, Arizona made a surprising deep playoff run, capturing their second pennant in franchise history. The 2025 Cincinnati Reds went 83-79 to win the NL wild card with a run differential of 35. They lost 2-0 to Los Angeles in the NL Wild Card Series. The Reds had a solid but not spectacular season, finishing third in their division and making the playoffs on a tiebreaker.