Listed below are the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

teams with the best season win–loss records, as determined by winning percentage (.700 or better).

Season records

Since the season was expanded to 162 games in 1961, only two teams have managed a winning percentage of .700 or higher in a full season (which requires 114 or more wins): the 1998 New York Yankees and the 2001 Seattle Mariners. ;Legend *NL =

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

*AL =

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

*AA =

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

*- Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the season was shortened to 60 games.

Pre-1886 teams

With shorter schedules (fewer than 100 games before 1884), it was more common for teams to finish with .700 or better winning percentages, as there was less of the evening-out effect of a longer season, and some seasons had multiple teams, with three in 1884 (between the three leagues that year) and in 1885. In the list below (minimum 15 games played), six teams finished with better overall winning percentages than the 1906 Cubs, three being in the early years of the National league, and the other three in leagues whose status as "major" is questionable: two in the National Association, whose status as a major league has long been disputed, and the other in the Union Association, which is conventionally listed as a major league, but this has been questioned due to the league's overall lack of playing talent and poor organizational structure. In addition, contemporary

baseball guides There have been several Baseball Guides since the 19th century - the ''Spalding Guide'' and '' Reach Guide'' were the primary ones for decades. The two merged eventually and then were replaced by the Guides put out by ''The Sporting News''. The main ...

did not consider the Union Association to be a major league: the earliest record referencing the Union Association as a major league dates to 1922.) ;Legend *NA = National Association *NL = National League *AA = American Association *UA =

Union Association The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelve teams who were in the Association at some poi ...

The all-time best single season record belongs to the

Cincinnati Red Stockings The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) 1867– ...

, who posted baseball's only perfect record at 67–0 (57–0 against

National Association of Base Ball Players The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was the first organization governing American baseball. (The sport was spelled with two words in the 19th century.) The first convention of sixteen New York City area clubs in 1857 effecti ...

clubs) in 1869, prior to Major League baseball. Their record would stretch to 81–0 across the 1870 season before losing 8–7 in eleven innings to the

Brooklyn Atlantics The Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn ("Atlantic" or the "Brooklyn Atlantics") was baseball's first champion and its first dynasty. The team was also the first baseball club to visit the White House in 1865 at the invitation of President And ...

in Brooklyn on June 14.

References

External links

Records and statistics
at Baseball Reference
Baseball Almanac study
of best teams of all time
Excerpts
from "Baseball Dynasties" by Neyer and Epstein * Neyer, Rob, and Eddie Epstein. ''Baseball Dynasties: The Greatest Teams of All Time''. Norton, 2000, 384 p. {{DEFAULTSORT:Best Major League Baseball season won-loss records Season won

Season records

Pre-1886 teams

See also

References

External links