Someone Actually Counted This

[stoutfellow]

The San Diego Padres have played a total of forty-five seasons in the National League - 7166 regular season games. They have been in first place for 984 games (~14% of the time), and in last for 2439 games (~34% of the time).

That's my team. For the last forty-five years, if someone asked you, "Who's in last in the NL West?", you could guess the Padres, and have better than one chance in three of being right.

Masochism City.

Comments

[mmegaera]

I understand that Seattle Mariners fans are in pretty much the same situation most years.

Have the Padres ever been to the World Series in the last 45 years?

[stoutfellow]

Yes, twice, in 1984 and 1998. They have won a total of one World Series game.... Wikipedia helpfully points out that the 1998 defeat made them the first expansion team to lose two World Series.

(In fairness, they could and should have done better in 1998; in the second game (I think it was), a bad call by the home plate umpire gave a Yankee batter one more swing, which turned into a three-run homer and made a tight game into a rout.)

[mmegaera]

Wikipedia just helpfully pointed out that, along with the Washington Nationals, the Mariners are one of only two teams (they've been around since 1977, so only 36 years as opposed to your Padres' 45) never to have gone to a World Series [g].

Not that I'm trying to one-up your dead, as Ekaterin would say, but your 1998 anecdote vaguely reminds me of the 2006 Super Bowl [wry g].