In Part One, we established that only three of twenty-five NHL expansion teams since 1967 missed the playoffs in all of their first six seasons.
Since Toronto FC faces the very real prospect of doing exactly that, the search continues today for the least-accomplished North American big-four expansion squads since 1967.
It should be noted that playoff spots are not created equal. It’s traditionally been easier to make the post-season in the NHL than it now is in Major League Soccer. Throughout the eighties, sixteen of twenty-one NHL teams skated for the Stanley Cup each spring.
It is, therefore, a little easier to miss the playoffs six years in a row in MLS – though Toronto FC will be the first, if they don’t pull off a miracle escape.
That brings us to …
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Major League Baseball:
For most of the time in question, only four of twenty-four MLB teams made the playoffs. So, to even things up a little, the focus here will be on .500 seasons.
Kansas City Royals (1969): Topped the .500 mark in years three and five, before falling back to 77-85 in year six. Two seasons later, they began a run of seven playoff appearances in ten years.
Montreal Expos (1969): Didn’t play .500 ball in any of their first ten years, but were very close (79 wins) in years five and six. Not a bad TFC parallel.
San Diego Padres (1969): Really, really, really bad ball club for nine straight years. Year six (60-102) was their fourth hundred-loss season.
Seattle Pilots (1969): Became the Milwaukee Brewers after one dreadful year in Frasiertown. Not as awful as San Diego, but this franchise also didn’t see the sunny side of .500 until year ten.
Seattle Mariners (1977): Baseball is a tough gig, kids! The expansion Mariners were sub-.500 – for 14 years in a row!
Toronto Blue Jays (1977): Like many of their expansion cousins, the Jays were sub-.500 for all of their first six years. They topped the mark in year seven, and much, much fun ensued. Toronto FC should do so well!
Colorado Rockies (1993): Things were very different when baseball finally decided to expand again. Yeah, the Rockies were sub-.500 in year six, but they were above in three, four and five. Year three was an actual playoff run.
Florida Marlins (1993): Bad, bad, awful year six, at 54-108. Mitigated slightly because they won the World Freakin’ Series in year five. (They were then bland and bad right through year ten. Mitigated slightly because they won the World Freakin’ Series in year eleven.)
Arizona Diamondbacks (1998): By year six, they were a solid winning team. Three playoff appearances – and they won the World Freakin’ Series in year four.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998): The devil made them do it. Ten-straight awful seasons, the very best being 70 wins in year seven. Dropped “Devil” from their name, and won the American League championship in year eleven.
The worst of the bunch appears to be the Seattle Mariners. In those first six seasons, by the way, they had only three managers. San Diego – right there with them – also used just three managers. The Pilots/Brewers had four skippers, but the franchise shift likely contributed to one of those changes.
National Football League:
Again, playoff spots are scarce. The NFL has this odd notion that, to make it to the post-season, a team should actually be one of the very best in the business. But more teams make it here than in baseball, so let’s just jump in and see what awaits us.
I’m not going to include the NFL/AFL merger of 1970. The ten teams that came over from the rival league were intact and pre-existing. There was no expansion draft, and they kicked butt from the get-go.
New Orleans Saints (1967): Here’s what we needed to see, TFC fans. By any scale, one of the very worst expansion teams of all time. In year six, the ‘Aints went 2-11-1. They wouldn’t see .500 till year thirteen, and wouldn’t top 8-8 or make the playoffs for their first two decades.
Seattle Seahawks (1976): 6-10 in year six, but had two winning 9-7 seasons before that. Made the AFC championship game two years later.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1976): All time record for consecutive losses after a franchise birth – 26. Conference finalists in year four, back in the playoffs in season six.
Carolina Panthers (1995): Conference finalists in year two. In the NFL!
Jacksonville Jaguars (1995): Conference finalists in year two. In the NFL!
Cleveland Browns (1999): Basically awful for eight years, but turned a 9-7 record into a playoff berth in season four. Put up a fine scrap before losing 36-33 to Seattle.
Houston Texans (2002): Year six was their first .500 season. Won 4, 5, 7, 2 and 6 games out of 16 before that. Texans fans and TFC fans would understand each other well, I think. (Only two coaches, though.)
The worst of the worst, hands down, is New Orleans. For the record, in those dismal opening six years, the Saints employed just two head coaches.
National Basketball Association:
Again, the merger year isn’t being counted. The New Jersey Nets may have been a basket-case basketball team, but they were not an expansion squad.
Playoff frequency is similar here to MLS, so that’s all we’re going to watch for.
San Diego Rockets (1967): Now in Houston, of course. Sub-.500 for all six of their opening seasons, but snuck into the playoffs in year two.
Seattle SuperSonics (1967): Not bad in year five, but awful a year later. Went through five coaches in that time. Very tight TFC parallel.
Milwaukee Bucks (1968): A playoff team from years two-to-six, with an NBA championship (12-2 playoff run, capped by a sweep in the finals) in season three.
Phoenix Suns (1968): Like the Rockets, they snuck into the post-season in year two. Had some winning seasons, but season six found them in the middle of a three-year backslide.
Buffalo Braves (1970): Three horrible seasons, then a decent playoff team in years four, five and six. Were fated to become the Los Angeles Clippers.
Cleveland Cavaliers (1970): After five losing seasons, the Cavs won their way to the conference final in year six, and would be in the playoffs nine times in eleven years.
Portland Trail Blazers (1970): Six losing, non-playoff seasons in a row, with four coaches. TFC fans should be delighted these teams are so similar. The Blazers won the NBA championship in year seven, and were in the post-season 27 of the next 28 years!
New Orleans Jazz (1974): No winning seasons, no playoffs, relocated to Utah for year six, and went 24-58. Burned through five coaches, but two of them were the same guy.
Dallas Mavericks (1980): Unbelievably bad at the start, a consistent playoff team (under just one coach) by season six.
Charlotte Hornets (1988): .500 in season six, coming off a decent playoff run the year before.
Miami Heat (1988): Didn’t win a lot of ball games, but back-doored their way into the post-season in seasons four and six.
Minnesota Timberwolves (1989): Under four different coaches, they suffered through six useless seasons. Eight-straight playoff runs lay ahead, but it was dismally TFC-like in Minny for a long while.
Orlando Magic (1989): Lost in the NBA finals to the Houston Rockets in year six.
Toronto Raptors (1995): Playoff runs in year five and six, capped by Vince Carter hitting the rim with an open jumper that could have put them in the conference final.
Vancouver Grizzlies (1995): Year six was their “best” in Vancouver (just 23-59), and also their last. Burned through five coaches, too.
Charlotte Bobcats (2004): Year six was their only winning season, and lone playoff appearance. They were swept.
The Grizzlies and Jazz are left to fight it out for the worst six-year debut in NBA history.
Whew!
That’s a lot of material, and thanks for staying with me this far.
Yes, I’m going somewhere with this, and I expect to get there early next week.
Happy Canada Day, everyone.
Onward!