The Nationwide League didn’t do its enlargement groups any favors in 1969.

The San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos have been supplied a wide range of castoff veterans and inexperienced minor leaguers within the enlargement draft, guaranteeing their swift descents to final place of their respective divisions.

The Padres suffered a six-game shedding streak throughout the first 10 days of the season. Different extended dry spells plagued the months to come back — seven consecutive defeats in late Might, 11 straight losses in late June, a streak of 9 losses from late July to early August, and one other run of 10 straight defeats later in August.

The Expos weren’t fairly as erratic. They endured solely 5 streaks of 5 defeats or extra throughout the 1969 season, although their worst stretch was a doozy. They misplaced each single recreation from Might 13 by way of June 7 — 20 defeats in all.

It’s no shock to study that these two golf equipment rank among the many worst within the half-decade from 1966 by way of 1970, based mostly on my calculations of staff scores. (Click on right here to study extra about TS, which is plotted on an equalized 100-point scale.)

The 1969 Padres are dead-last within the five-year interval with a rating of 10.456 factors. The 1967 New York Mets are subsequent at 14.743 factors, and the 1969 Expos are third-worst with a TS of 15.677.

Rounding out the underside 5 for the half-decade are the 1970 Chicago White Sox and the 1966 Mets.

That is the second installment in a sequence of tales concerning the worst groups of the Trendy Period, which runs from 1961 to the current. New tales each Monday will cowl successive five-year spans. (Click on right here to see final week’s have a look at 1961-1965.)

Scroll down for an inventory of 1966-1970’s 10 worst golf equipment. Every is listed with its win-loss file and its Trendy Period percentile, which is the share of all 1,656 golf equipment between 1961 and 2022 that the given staff outperformed. Workforce scores and extra details and figures are supplied for the half-decade’s 5 worst golf equipment.

A brand new installment will arrive in your electronic mail every weekday morning

• File: 52-110

• Workforce rating: 10.456 factors

• Trendy Period percentile: 0.8%

• Supervisor: Preston Gomez

• Stars: Joe Niekro and Al Santorini led the pitching employees with eight wins apiece. Each posted ERAs beneath 4.00 — Niekro at 3.70, Santorini at 3.95. First baseman Nate Colbert hit 24 homers and drove dwelling 66 runs, topping the Padres in each classes.

• Backside line: San Diego ran up a good 15-18 file by way of Might 11, however it sank into final place within the Nationwide League West earlier than the top of the month, by no means to rise any increased. The Padres suffered their one centesimal loss on September 13 and completed with 110 defeats.

• File: 61-101

• Workforce rating: 14.743 factors

• Trendy Period percentile: 1.7%

• Supervisor: Wes Westrum and Salty Parker

• Stars: Rookie pitcher Tom Seaver was, properly, terrific. He in some way amassed a 16-13 file on a membership that in any other case went 45-88. His ERA of two.76 was Tenth-best within the Nationwide League, clinching him the Rookie of the Yr Award. Left fielder Tommy Davis batted .302.

• Backside line: The Mets had lastly emerged from final place in 1966, ending ninth within the Nationwide League after ending their first 4 seasons within the Tenth spot. They regressed in 1967, sinking again into the basement. New York lagged 40.5 video games behind NL champion St. Louis.

• File: 52-110

• Workforce rating: 15.677 factors

• Trendy Period percentile: 2.4%

• Supervisor: Gene Mauch

• Stars: Proper fielder Rusty Staub turned a cult hero in Montreal, thanks largely to his team-leading .302 batting common. He additionally topped the Expos with 29 dwelling runs. Invoice Stoneman pitched a no-hitter within the ninth recreation of the season. He paced the employees with 11 wins.

• Backside line: Final place was acquainted territory for Mauch, who had managed the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies, the second-worst membership in final Monday’s 1961-1965 rankings. That earlier staff famously misplaced 23 video games in a row. Mauch’s Expos got here shut with their 20-game shedding streak from mid-Might to early June.

• File: 56-106

• Workforce rating: 17.195 factors

• Trendy Period percentile: 3.3%

• Supervisor: Don Gutteridge, Invoice Adair, and Chuck Tanner

• Stars: Pitcher Tommy John went 12-17 with a good 3.27 ERA. Reliever Wilbur Wooden notched 21 saves. Getting older shortstop Luis Aparicio may nonetheless hit, as evidenced by his .313 batting common.

• Backside line: The White Sox had come inside three video games of the American League pennant three seasons earlier, however they have been not aggressive by 1970. Chicago completed final within the AL West, 9 video games behind a pair of second-year enlargement groups (Kansas Metropolis and Milwaukee) and 42 video games behind division chief Minnesota.

• File: 66-95

• Workforce rating: 19.679 factors

• Trendy Period percentile: 4.7%

• Supervisor: Wes Westrum

• Stars: Second baseman Ron Hunt batted a strong .288 and certified for the Nationwide League’s All-Star staff. Three beginning pitchers tied for the employees lead by successful 11 video games apiece: Dennis Ribant (3.20 ERA), Jack Fisher (3.68), and Bob Shaw (3.92).

• Backside line: Climbing to ninth place gave the Mets a motive for optimism, because it was the very best end of their five-year historical past. However the membership wrapped up the season with a 19-40 file from August 1 onward, hardly an encouraging development.

• 6. Kansas Metropolis Athletics (1967), 62-99, 4.8%

• 7. Chicago Cubs (1966), 59-103, 5.3%

• 8. Washington Senators (1968), 65-96, 5.5%

• 9. San Diego Padres (1970), 63-99, 6.8%

• 10. Philadelphia Phillies (1970), 73-88, 10.1%