Well, it is just days before the end of the major league baseball season and as of this writing, several divisional races are still up for grabs. One race that has just ended involves a division where it appeared that no one wanted to win it: the National League West. The San Diego Padres have clinched the division, and the collective yawn that you are hearing is coming from fans who are simply not impressed as the Padres won-lost record sits squarely at .500! Do the Padres stand a chance? If history repeats itself they certainly do. Please read on to learn why.

In 1973, when the National League was split into two divisions of six teams each, a similar battle for first place occurred. The New York Mets and all their rivals battled to the end of the season before the Mets won the division with an 82-79 record. Up until that time no team had won any sort of baseball title with as