King Kaufman's Sports Daily

If baseball sent 8 teams in each league to the playoffs, to match the NBA and NHL, this is how many appearances each team would have had since 1995. The basketball and hockey figures for comparison are actual playoff appearances, 1995-2003.

0 appearances
Baseball: 1 (Tampa Bay)
Basketball: 2 (Golden State, Memphis)
Hockey: 3 (Atlanta, Columbus, Nashville)

1 appearance
Baseball: 1 (Detroit)
Basketball: 3 (Denver, L.A. Clippers, Washington)
Hockey: 1 (Minnesota)

2 appearances
Baseball: 5 (Florida, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Montreal, Pittsburgh)
Basketball: 0
Hockey: 3 (Calgary, N.Y. Islanders, Tampa Bay)

3 appearances
Baseball: 3 (Minnesota, Philadelphia, San Diego)
Basketball: 5 (Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, New Jersey, Toronto)
Hockey: 4 (Anaheim, Carolina, Florida, N.Y. Rangers)

4 appearances
Baseball: 5 (Arizona, Chi. Cubs, Cincinnati, Colorado, Texas)
Basketball: 2 (Chicago, Milwaukee)
Hockey: 3 (Chicago, Los Angeles, Montreal)

5 appearances
Baseball: 4 (Anaheim, Baltimore, N.Y. Mets, Oakland)
Basketball: 3 (Atlanta, Houston, Philadelphia)
Hockey: 1 (Vancouver)

6 appearances
Baseball: 2 (St. Louis, Toronto)
Basketball: 4 (Detroit, Miami, Sacramento, Seattle)
Hockey: 6 (Boston, Buffalo, Edmonton, Phoenix, San Jose, Washington)

7 appearances
Baseball: 3 (Chi. White Sox, Cleveland, San Francisco)
Basketball: 4 (Minnesota, New Orleans, New York, Orlando)
Hockey: 4 (Dallas, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Toronto)

8 appearances
Baseball: 3 (Boston, Houston, Seattle)
Basketball: 3 (Indana, Phoenix, San Antonio)
Hockey: 1 (New Jersey)

9 appearances
Baseball: 3 (Altanta, Los Angeles, N.Y. Yankees)
Basketball: 3 (L.A. Lakers, Portland, Utah)
Hockey: 4 (Colorado, Detroit, Philadelphia, St. Louis)

If the NBA and NHL sent only four teams in each conference to the playoffs, to match baseball's eight total teams, this is how many appearances each team would have had since 1995. The baseball figures for comparison are actual playoff appearances, 1995-2003.

0 appearances
Baseball: 8 (Detroit, Kansas City, Miwaukee, Montreal, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Toronto)
Basketball: 6 (Denver, Golden State, L.A. Clippers, Memphis, Toronto, Washington)
Hockey: 8 (Atlanta, Columbus, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, N.Y. Islanders)

1 appearance
Baseball: 4 (Anaheim, Chi. White Sox, Cincinnati, Colorado)
Basketball: 5 (Boston, Cleveland, Houston, Milwaukee, Minnesota)
Hockey: 7 (Anaheim, Buffalo, Calgary, N.Y. Rangers, Phoenix, Tampa Bay, Vancouver)

2 appearances
Baseball: 7 (Baltimore, Chi. Cubs, Florida, Los Angeles, Minnesota, N.Y. Mets, San Diego)
Basketball: 7 (Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland)
Hockey: 5 (Boston, Carolina, Chicago, Florida, San Jose)

3 appearances
Baseball: 2 (Arizona, Texas)
Basketball: 3 (Chicago, Orlando, Sacramento)
Hockey: 3 (Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Washington)

4 appearances
Baseball: 6 (Boston, Houston, Oakland, St. Louis, San Francisco, Seattle)
Basketball: 3 (New Orleans, New York, Seattle)
Hockey: 1 (Toronto)

5 appearances
Baseball: 0
Basketball: 1 (Miami)
Hockey: 1 (St. Louis)

6 appearances
Baseball: 1 (Cleveland)
Basketball: 1 (Indiana)
Hockey: 2 (Dallas, New Jersey)

7 appearances
Baseball: 0
Basketball: 3 (L.A. Lakers, San Antonio, Utah)
Hockey: 0

8 appearances
Baseball: 0
Basketball:0
Hockey: 2 (Colorado, Philadelphia)

9 appearances
Baseball: 2 (Atlanta, N.Y. Yankees)
Basketball: 0
Hockey: 1 (Detroit)

Notes: All teams that moved between 1995 and 2003, such as Quebec/Colorado or Winnipeg/Phoenix in the NHL, are referred to by their current location, but the figures represent the entire period.
Baseball: Tampa Bay and Arizona began play in 1998. There were three eighth-place ties in baseball, between Philadelphia and Los Angeles in 1995 and 1999 and between Philadelphia and the Mets in 2001. I didn't want to bother with tie-breakers, so I just gave those ties to the Phillies' opponents, since giving them to the Phillies would have meant a more balanced picture, helping my argument.
Basketball: Memphis and Toronto began play in 1995-96.
Hockey: Nashville began play in 1998-99. Atlanta began play in 1999-2000. Minnesota and Columbus began play in 2000-01.

This story has been corrected since it was originally published.

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