And, at the last, the NL West

The last division is the NL West. The Cubs are running away with it this year, not entirely surprisingly. It's also tended to be pretty pitching dominated. The Astros and Padres are getting crushed, perhaps not surprisingly given how many games a year they're playing against these other teams...

1906 Cubs: They hold the record for most wins in a 154-game season (116), now shared with the 2001 Mariners, who required 162. First in a three-year stretch of pennant winners for Chicago, they featured players fabled in story and song, or maybe doggerel is more apt. Naturally, being the Cubs, they lost the Series while heavily favored (though they won it the next two years).

1957 Braves: Richie Cunningham's favorite team, and why not? Milwaukee featured three Hall of Famers: Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn, and Hammerin' Hank Aaron. They defeated the Yankees in 7 games, the high point of their time in Milwaukee, though they did also play in the Series in 1958.

1942 Cardinals: Winners in an exciting pennant race over Brooklyn, and then winners of the World Series over the Yankees, this team is also often considered among the best in history. Just ask Stan Musial. Don't ask him about how that 2004 team worked out, though. I'm managing these guys, who are hanging around .500, and not hitting well at all...

1974 Dodgers: Not the Sandy Koufax/Don Drysdale teams, not the Fernandomania team, not even the stupidly overhyped Kirk Gibson team. But this team does share the record for most wins by an LA Dodger team, and won the pennant (though losing to Oakland in the World Series) and was the first of the dreaded Garvey/Lopes/Russell/Cey pennant winners that dominated the NL in my youth.

1998 Astros: 1998 was a great year for great teams. This Astros team set the Houston record for wins in a season, helped along by the late-season addition of Randy Johnson, plus great seasons by Bagwell, Biggio, and Moises Alou. Just don't shake Moises' hand to congratulate him. Unfortunately for them, they lost in the NLCS to San Diego. They also seem to be getting killed in the Cloverland Leagues this year...

1996 Padres: I was a bit surprised to see this team as the best San Diego could offer, but who am I to argue? Ken Caminti won a steroid-fueled MVP award, Tony Gwynn was Tony Gwynn, and Trevor Hoffman saved 42 games. Oh, and I guess Fernando is represented after all. And Ricky Henderson's there too. Yay.

1976 Reds: The Big Red Machine. Swept the NLCS, swept the Yankees in the World Series.

1993 Giants: Another great team that fell just short. They led the NL West most of 1993 before a late charge by the Braves left them just short in the last pennant race before the Wild Card made such things quaint memories. Still, they share the record for most wins by a San Francisco team, and Barry Bonds won the MVP with a season that puts him in MVP contention even when playing against the all-time greats...