San Diego Padres: The Worst Home Team In MLB History

The San Diego Padres return home tonight, where they have the worst winning percentage in MLB history.

Overall, the San Diego Padres are currently 50-83 and sit 23 games behind the National League West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks. After a day off on Monday, they return to Petco Park to take on the playoff-chasing Seattle Mariners. Unfortunately, home hasn’t always been a welcoming place for the San Diego Padres.

Of those 50 wins this season, 23 of them have come at home. That is the third-lowest home win total in Major League Baseball. Only the Baltimore Orioles (22 wins) and the Kansas City Royals (20 wins) have given their fanbase less to cheer about. Their 35% winning percentage at home is much lower than their already abysmal road winning percentage, which sits at 40%.

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The Seattle Mariners enter this series 4.5 games out of the wild card and 7.0 back of the AL West lead, they are in desperate need of a series win to stay in contention with the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees for a wild card spot. While they have been cold lately, the Mariners are 13 games over .500 on the road and will feature Felix Hernandez on Tuesday night who is looking to show his organization that he belongs in the starting rotation, not in the bullpen.

The struggles at home for the San Diego Padres have existed since the team’s first season in 1969. Using Baseball Reference’s Play Index, the Padres are the only current MLB franchise to not have a winning percentage of at least .500 at home.

In 3,975 franchise games as the home team, the Padres are 1983-1991, a .499 winning percentage. Only the Philadelphia Phillies (-1,863) and the Baltimore Orioles (-1,036) have a worse run differential at home than the Padres, who have a -933 mark.

At least, should fans have to sit through more losing baseball games at Petco Park this season, they will get to do so while watching one of the more exciting prospects to join the organization in years, second baseman Luis Urias, who was just called up today to make his MLB debut.

Here’s to one day, the San Diego Padres providing fans high-quality entertainment from the friendly confines of Petco Park.