Just over a week ago, the Reds’ record sat at 15-30. While dropping two out of every three is terrible no matter how you spin it, another team recently began their season with the same 45-game split yet managed to not only score a Wild Card postseason berth, but make it all the way to the World Series.
The Houston Astros went into the 2005 season with high expectations. The previous year, the team finished 18 games over .500 to capture the NL Wild Card. From there, the Astros won the first postseason series of the franchise’s 43-year history, besting the NL East champion Atlanta Braves 3 games to 2 before falling to division rival St.