[1] The restructuring of both the American League and National League from two to three divisions each made it necessary to either give one team a bye in the first round of playoffs, or create the wild card for the best second-place team.
(However, the Padres did win the postseason wild card round in 2020, under MLB's modified playoff format that year, though not having the best record in the NL West.)
The Colorado Rockies have been a wild card qualifier an NL record five times, followed by the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals with four each.
Through the 2022 postseason, five NL wild card teams have gone on to win the World Series (Florida in 1997 and 2003, St. Louis in 2011, San Francisco in 2014 and Washington in 2019).
Five teams won the NL pennant but lost the World Series (New York in 2000, San Francisco in 2002, Houston in 2005, Colorado in 2007, and Philadelphia in 2022).