Money still doesn’t ensure success in baseball. The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, the organizations with the biggest payrolls in their respective leagues, both missed the 2019 playoffs despite combining to allocate about $450 million on players. The Oakland Athletics, the model for winning with limited financial resources, will participate in October for the 10th time this century.

But no team proves this sport’s unpredictable nature better than Oakland’s opponent in the American League wild card game on Wednesday night:...