When was the last time no MLB team won 100 games in a season? Jeff Passan says World Series is "up for grabs" amid competitive regular season

None of the 30 baseball teams is projected to win 100 games this season — a feat that hasn't occurred in the MLB since 2014. In fact, the sport hasn't been this competitive on paper in a long time. As per ESPN's Jeff Passan, this has made it tougher to predict who will win the Fall Classic in October.

The Dodgers have the best record in the league right now with a 76-52 record and are only projected to get 95 wins. Eighteen teams are also projected to have a positive win record (more than .500 PCT), with only 12 postseason places up for grabs. The 2014 season had only fifteen teams that finished with more than 82 wins.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Passan pointed out the best 12 records in the game then while also highlighting a glaring stat that makes this season more bizarre. The best run differential lies with the New York Yankees, projected to end with 144. The last time an MLB season saw the highest run differential less than 231 was in 2014.

What has made this season ultra-competitive?

Baseball's balanced-out season with each team having to play every other team has made it challenging and compelling. Every roster is built to tackle all sorts of team combinations. Moreover, the expanded playoff roster has made it possible for more teams to get in without a lot of wins.

This has prompted teams to achieve goals of staying in the middle pack, which might be enough to earn a playoff spot. In fact, as past seasons show, lower-ranked teams have done better in the postseason than the division winners. This was exemplified last season when two wild card teams in Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks made it to the World Series.

But all cannot be attributed to the scheduling. This season has seen a plethora of injuries to the contender teams. Atlanta Braves had almost five of its fiery batting lineup sidelined, while the Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles have had more than four starters with long-term injuries.

The offseason saw balanced spending, with no other team except the Dodgers breaching the $200 million mark. Coupled with the competitive tax balance, this has created more balanced competition in the league.