The New Efficiency
Since the wild card was introduced in 1995, no American League team has made the postseason without scoring more than 700 runs during the regular season. That could change this year. If the season had ended on Sunday, the AL wild cards would have been won by the A's and the Orioles—two teams on sub-700 scoring paces. A third such team, the Rays, was only 1½ games behind Baltimore for the last spot. Here are the lowest-scoring AL playoff teams in the three-division era and how this year's runs-hungry contenders compare.
[The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]
707 2011
741 2005
761 2005
765 2008
768 2003
768 2002
698* 2012
688* 2012
681* 2012
*Projected 162-game total
PHOTO
BRAD MANGIN (REDDICK)
THE LOWDOWN Josh Reddick and the A's have upped their production in the second half but still could be one of the lowest-scoring AL playoff teams.
CHART
NINE PHOTOS