MLB Postseason Value: Top and Bottom Teams Revealed

The MLB playoffs are about to begin, where 12 teams will battle it out to win the World Series and those left behind will be hoping next year is their season. But, according to a new study, the true cost of postseason failures looks different for every team.

The study, conducted by Casino Guru USA, examined postseason data over the past decade for every MLB team, from total playoff appearances to the series they reached, before assigning performance points to each one. The total payroll was calculated to determine each team’s expected points, which was compared against performance points to rank and score each team out of 100 from the worst to the best postseason value.

The Los Angeles Angels are the #1 team with the worst postseason value and a score of 0/100, totaling a payroll of $1.72B with no playoff appearances in the study period. The Pittsburgh Pirates follow behind in 2nd place with a score of 21/100, as the only remaining team to miss the playoffs in the past decade and a total payroll of $740M. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros tie for the best postseason value with scores of 99/100. The Astros boast the lowest cost per postseason performance point at $58M, with four World Series appearances and two of those resulting in a win. On average, the five teams with the worst postseason value spent an average of $153M per failure, with the top five teams averaging $69M per performance point.