No one really expects a baseball expansion team to do well in its first year or two of existence. Given five or ten years, new teams can put together a few playoff runs, but the early life of an expansion club is futile.
Expansion Clubs’ Quest For .500 Futile -- Still
And if you count having a record above .500 all-time as a sign of success, that futility seems to be never-ending. Starting with the teams admitted in 1961, no expansion team has an overall winning record. The clubs are a combined 37,074-40,201 (almost .480).
Percentage-wise, the closest to an even record are the Los Angeles Angels and the Houston Astros, both at .498, but each will have to go 38 games over .500 at some point to get to the break-even mark.
In terms of games, the shortest path belongs to the Diamondbacks, who are 990-1,000.
Longest road? Percentage-wise, it’s the Rays (no real surprise there). But even they might get there before the Padres round up the 491 extra wins they need to reach .500.
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