The Houston Astros secured the American League West division title on the final day of the regular season with an 81-81 record, narrowly edging out the equally struggling Texas Rangers. However, the Astros have now made unwanted baseball history by becoming the worst division-winning team in Major League Baseball history, surpassing the previous low-water mark set by the 2005 San Diego Padres, who won with an 82-80 record.

The Astros finished the season with a -32 run differential, which statistically suggests they should have won only 78 games, indicating significant underperformance. The Rangers, whom they defeated on the final day, were marginally worse with a -46 run differential and an expected record of 76-86. Despite their poor performance metrics, the Astros will host the Chicago White Sox in the wild card series as division winners, with FanGraphs giving them a 55% chance of advancing, as the small sample size of playoff baseball introduces considerable randomness to outcomes.