The best part of having two baseball teams in the Los Angeles market?

Usually one of them will be pretty good.

Didn’t work out that way for greater L.A. this year. And that doesn’t happen very often.

Both the Dodgers and Angels finished 80-82. Both teams were losers in the black-and-white world of sports. Lose more than you win? That makes you a loser.

Most years, the generic SoCal fan can depend on one or the other franchise to contend.  Of late, to more than contend.

The Dodgers or the Angels made the playoffs every year from 2004 through 2009. Both teams made the playoffs in 2004, 2008 and 2009.

The last time neither team made the playoffs? In 2003.

And the last time both teams were losers in the same year? That would be 1999. The Dodgers were 77-85; the Angels were 70-92.

The time before that when both were losers? 1992. And before that? 1987. And before that?1968. So, seasons in which both the Dodgers and Angels have been losers? It’s happened only four times in 42 seasons.

For the hardcore fan, the “other” team being decent is no great satisfaction. But for the general fan of good baseball, people in greater Los Angeles have had a good team around almost constantly since the Dodgers arrived, in 1958.

If you are worried about both teams being losers again next year … well, history suggests you need not be. Since the Angels came into being, in 1961, the Dodgers and Angels have never both been losers in the same two seasons consecutively. That’s 50 seasons.

I have more confidence in the Angels turning it around in 2011. Kendry Morales will be back. They need another hitter, and I expect they will find one. They have some decent pitching. And the Angels are just a better franchise than the McCourt Dodgers. The divorce of Frank and Jamie could retard/stunt the franchise for years to come.

Some other stats while poking around:

–Despite being losers, the Dodgers and Angels finished third and fifth, respectively, in attendance. Each drew more than 3.2 million; together they sold 6.8 million tickets, putting them well ahead of the other two-team markets — New York (6.3 million), Chicago (5.2 million) and San Francisco/Oakland (4.4 million).

–The best team in the American League, Tampa Bay, finished 22nd among 30 clubs in attendance at 1.86 million. Which is scandalous. The Rays have been one of the best teams in baseball for three years now, and they still average 23,000 a game. Defenders of the Tampa-St. Pete market like to talk about how bad the economy there is, but is it much worse than it is in Los Angeles? Has to be a market or two out there that would be better. Portland, maybe? Louisville? San Antonio?

–Fans are not particularly discerning about the opposition. The most-watched road team was the Yankees (34,939), a bit over 1,000 more than saw the typical Dodgers road game. In fact, the entire range (most-watched to least-watched road team) was less than 9,000, from the Yankees to the Chicago White Sox.

–Actually,  three of the five least-watched road teams made the playoffs — Texas, Tampa Bay and Minnesota. The least-seen team, the White Sox, went 88-74 and contended into the final weeks.

–The Angels are a couple of good seasons away from end a season over .500, all-time. The club got as many as 153 games under .500 after the 1981 season, but have been clawing their way back since then. Till this hiccup, anyway. The Angels are 36 games under .500, at 3,967 and 4,003. The Dodgers? 10,135 and 9,199 all-time, which is .524 ball.  Say thanks to the O’Malley-influenced/owned Dodgers, who won scads of games from 1946 through 1997.

Anyway, the best baseball market in the country is the L.A. market. Has been for a while now. But that comes from the expectation of success. It is incumbent on both teams to get back to the north side of .500 again next season.