Wild Card teams with the best records

The 2023 American League East race between the Orioles and Rays was incredibly close, but one of them had to finish in second place.

The O's clinched the division crown, ensuring Tampa Bay (99-63) a place among the winningest Wild Card teams in history.

Here's a look at the best Wild Card teams, in terms of winning percentage, since the start of the Wild Card era in 1995. (Note: This list doesn’t include the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, which had a different postseason format.)

2021 Dodgers: 106-56, .654
The Dodgers and Giants were the two best teams in baseball in 2021, and the race for the NL West title came down to the final day of the regular season. In the end, the Giants were one game better, winning their last game to finish 107-55 to the Dodgers' 106-56. That put the Dodgers into the NL Wild Card Game, in which they beat the Cardinals to set up an NL Division Series showdown with the Giants. L.A. prevailed in a thrilling five-game battle, avenging its loss in the division race.

2001 A’s: 102-60, .630
One hundred and two wins wasn’t enough to win the AL West in 2001. In fact, the A’s finished 14 games behind the first-place Mariners, who won an AL-record 116 games. Oakland earned a Wild Card berth and drew an AL Division Series matchup against the three-time defending World Series-champion Yankees, who finished with seven fewer victories than the A’s in 2001.

The A’s won the first two games in New York, but lost the Derek Jeter “flip” game at the Coliseum and were sent packing after losing the next two as well. To add insult to injury, the Yankees signed 2001 AL MVP Jason Giambi away from the A’s after the season, although Oakland actually won 103 games and the division in 2002, a season that was immortalized in the Michael Lewis book (and subsequent movie) “Moneyball.”

2022 Mets: 101-61, .623
The Mets dealt with some especially tough luck in 2022 -- a win on the final day of the regular season, paired with a Braves loss, brought them into a tie for first place in the NL East. Unfortunately, in lieu of a 163rd game, the division was settled via a tiebreaker -- so the Braves, up 10-9 in the season series after sweeping their final three-game series, had already clinched when the Mets pulled even, relegating New York, which had spent 175 days in first place, to the NL Wild Card Series against the Padres.

2018 Yankees: 100-62, .617
In manager Aaron Boone’s first year at the helm, the Yankees reached the 100-win plateau for the first time since their 2009 World Series championship-winning season, but saw the rival Red Sox win a franchise-record 108 games. As a result, New York earned the distinction of being only the second 100-win Wild Card team. The Yanks defeated the A’s in the AL Wild Card Game, setting up a showdown with Boston in the ALDS.

After splitting the first two games at Fenway Park, the Red Sox steamrolled the Yankees 16-1 in Game 3 at Yankee Stadium and held on for a series-clinching 4-3 win in Game 4 to eliminate the Yanks en route to their fourth World Series title in 15 years.

2002 Angels: 99-63, .611
The Angels snapped a 15-year postseason drought in 2002, and while their 99 wins -- a franchise record at the time -- weren’t enough to win the AL West, the club upset the Yankees in the ALDS and took down the Twins in the AL Championship Series to reach the World Series against the Giants, the NL Wild Card team.

After seven games, four of which were decided by one run, the Halos were crowned World Series champions for the first time in franchise history and became the second Wild Card team to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy, joining the 1997 Marlins.

2023 Rays: 99-63, .611
The Rays came out of the gate red hot in 2023, starting off 13-0 and going 20-3 through 23 games. By the end of June, Tampa Bay was 57-28, with a 6 1/2-game lead over Baltimore in the AL East. However, the Rays stumbled in July and found themselves behind the O’s by the end of the month. Although they stayed close and even pulled into a tie with Baltimore after defeating the Orioles on Sept. 15, they never regained sole possession of first place. The Rays settled for a Wild Card berth, reaching the playoffs for the fifth straight season.

2004 Red Sox: 98-64, .605
After the Red Sox lost to the Yankees on Boone’s walk-off homer in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, general manager Theo Epstein went out and traded for Curt Schilling in the offseason and, when the team was in need of a shakeup, shipped out shortstop Nomar Garciaparra in a four-team deal that brought back Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz at the Trade Deadline. It wasn’t enough to take the division crown away from New York, but Boston earned a Wild Card berth with 98 wins -- the third most in MLB -- and advanced to another ALCS matchup with the Yankees.

The Red Sox then put together a historic comeback from a three-games-to-none series deficit against their archrivals, moved on to the World Series and swept the Cardinals to win their first title since 1918.

2015 Pirates: 98-64, .605
The NL Central made history in 2015. For the first time since the divisional era began in 1969, one division produced the three best records in the Majors. The Cardinals finished in first place with 100 wins, while the Pirates won 98 games, tied for the third-highest total in franchise history, and hosted the NL Wild Card Game for the third straight year.

2015 Cubs: 97-65, .599
Sparked by the signing of free agent Jon Lester, the debut of NL Rookie of the Year Award winner Kris Bryant and an NL Cy Young Award-winning season from Jake Arrieta, the Cubs flipped the switch from rebuilding to contending in their first year under manager Joe Maddon.

Chicago defeated the Pirates in the NL Wild Card Game and eliminated the rival Cardinals in the NLDS before getting swept by the Mets in the NLCS. One year later, the Cubs were World Series champions, ending a 108-year drought.

2018 A’s: 97-65, .599
After three straight last-place finishes, the A’s rode strong defense, a powerful lineup and a great bullpen to a 97-win season and the second AL Wild Card spot. Unfortunately for Oakland, the club ran into a 100-win Yankees club in the AL Wild Card Game and was dealt a 7-2 loss in the Bronx.

2019 A’s: 97-65, .599
One year after losing to the Yankees in the AL Wild Card Game, the A’s put up an identical 97-65 record and reached the postseason as a Wild Card team again, this time hosting the Rays in the AL Wild Card Game. But a different venue did not produce a different result for the A’s, who fell to Tampa Bay 5-1 -- Oakland’s third Wild Card Game loss in six years.

1999 Mets: 97-66, .595
In Mike Piazza’s first full season with the team, the Mets reached the postseason for the first time in 11 years, though not before winning a one-game tiebreaker against the Reds in Cincinnati behind a shutout from Al Leiter.

The Mets defeated the 100-win D-backs in the NLDS on Todd Pratt’s series-clinching walk-off homer in Game 4, setting up a matchup with the rival Braves in the NLCS. After falling behind three games to none, New York clawed its way back to force Game 6 before Atlanta put the series away on Andruw Jones’ bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 11th inning.