At the start of July the world champion White Sox were battling the Tigers for the best record in baseball. On July 2, as the Sox played their 81st game, an 8-1 loss to Baltimore, they were 2-1/2 games behind Detroit with a 53-28 record and a .654 winning percentage. They were on track to win 106 games which would have been the most wins for a second-place team ever (if the Tigers won their projected 112 games).

The Twins were ten full games behind Detroit for first and 7-1/2 behind Chicago for second. They were fourth behind Chicago,1-1/2 games behind the Yankees (six games back of the Sox) and a half-game behind the Blue Jays (7 GB) at the bare fringes of the wild card hunt. Meanwhile in the NL wild card hunt the current co-leaders were in fourth (the Dodgers, 2.5 GB) and eighth place (the Phils, 6.5 GB).

Things are, of course, much different today. The Twins and Yankees now have playoffs spots locked up. The Red Sox, who were leading the AL East by four games, have fallen to third. The Phils and Dodgers have supplanted the then-wild card leader, the Reds. And, of course, the White Sox have been eliminated from the post season after a 14-1 loss coupled with an 8-1 Twins win yesterday.

The Sox's record so far in the second half is 34-42, .447. Their winning percentage decreased by 207 points in the second half. It's among the worst declines in baseball history. The Red Sox are not far behind, losing 183 points from their first half winning percentage (from 50-31, .617 in the first half to 33-43, .434 in the second), good enough for 39th on the all-time list.

As for the best improvement in the second half this year, the Angels lead the pack with a 183-point improvement followed by, surprisingly, the Pirates (173) and not so surprisingly, the Phils (143). They aren't enough to make the 25 best second-half improvements, however:

By the way, if the Astros fall short in their pursuit of the NL Central or the wild card crown, both of which seem like long shots, with the White Sox already eliminated this would be the first season since 1991 that both World Series teams from the previous year woulc not be part of the postseason (ignoring 1993-94 when the Blue Jays and Phils did not have an opportunity to defend their league championships). It would the 40th time that both have missed the next season's playoffs, though it's gotten much rarer as the number of playoff teams have expanded during divisional play.

The Sox and 'Stros will at least avoid being one of six World Series pairs to have losing records the next season. Here is the worst winning percentages for the two teams who met in the previous year's Series (Houston/Chicago have a collective .527 winning percentage as of this morning):

By the way, the best records for Series teams that both missed the playoffs the next season are:

And yes, the 1954 Yankees and Dodgers both lost the league titles, to the Indians and Giants, respectively.