So the Mets finally clinched the NL East title yesterday after three unsuccessful tries against the lowly Pirates. Even so, the Mets nabbed a playoff spot earlier than any other team, with 13 games left to play.

That made me wonder what team was the earliest to clinch a division or league crown. I looked it up and below are the results. The Mets are actually tied with eleven other teams for the 28th earliest. Had they won their first game against the Pirates, and therefore, clinched with 16 games to go, they would have been among the top 16 earliest teams to grab a title:

Note that only six of those clubs actually won the World Series. Which brings me to the next topic in this ever popular series: Do teams that clinch earlier have an advantage in the playoffs and World Series? Does the extra time to rest one's starting players and set one's rotation give a team an advantage when the playoffs roll around or does it make the team rusty? However, that's a topic for another night.