As exhibition games start, it’s important to understand the importance of these games.

Last spring, the Los Angeles Angels had the best record in the American League at 19-9. Then they went on and finished 74-88, 21 games behind the Rangers in the West. Only three teams in the league were worse.

The Arizona Diamondbacks led the National League in spring with a stellar 24-8 record. They, too, were the fourth worst team in the league, going 69-93, finishing 22 games behind the Dodgers in the West.

Six teams in the National League finished at .500 or above last spring: Arizona, Cincinnati, San Diego, Philadelphia, Colorado and Washington. Only one of those finished over .500 during the season—Washington. San Diego, Arizona, Milwaukee and Cincinnati were the four worst team in the National League.

The worst team in baseball last year, the Minnesota Twins, who lost 103 games and had a pitiful .364 winning percentage, finished 19-11 in the spring, fifth best team in baseball.

The most worthless stat in spring is a team’s won-lost record. Let the games begin.