the cubs had the best record in mlb 2016.
who had the best record in mlb 2016?
the cubs
after losing records in 2013 and 2014, the cubs secured a playoff berth in 2015 with the third-best record in mlb. they defeated the pittsburgh pirates in the national league wild card game and the st. louis cardinals in the national league division series en route to the 2015 national league championship series, where they were eliminated by the new york mets. the club entered the 2016 season looking to advance deep into the playoffs again. this time, however, the cubs won the nl central with the best record in mlb, 103–58. it was the club's first divisional title since 2008. the team's fortunes in the playoffs turned around as well. they defeated the san francisco giants in the national league division series and the los angeles dodgers in the national league championship series, breaking the curse of the billy goat, and securing the franchise's first national league pennant and world series appearance since 1945. once there, they fell to a 3–1 deficit in the series, but won games five and six to force a game seven. after ten innings, a rain delay, and a blown 5–1 lead, the cubs finally emerged victorious in game seven, 8–7. the cubs' historic win marked the end of the longest championship drought in american sports history, winning the franchise's third world series trophy and first in 108 years.
history of the chicago cubs
in major league baseball (mlb), the wild card teams are the two teams in each of the two leagues (american and national) that have qualified for the postseason despite failing to win their division. both teams in each league possess the two best winning percentages in their respective league after the three division winners. the wild card was first instituted in mlb in 1994, with one wild-card team per league advancing to the division series in the postseason to face a division winner. in 2012, the system was modified to add a second wild-card team per league and put each league's wild-card teams against each other in a play-in game—the mlb wild card game—the winner of which would then advance to the division series and play the team with the best record. this system ensures that the team with the second-best record in each league, after the three division winners and the team with the first-best record in the league that is a non-division winner, will also get a postseason berth, even if it isn't a division champion.
major league baseball wild card