There was a time when parity in Major League Baseball was a pipe dream.

At the end of the last century, a handful of teams dominated baseball, led by the New York Yankees.

In 1998, three teams won 100 or more games — the Yanks, Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros.

Another, the San Diego Padres, won 98.

In 1999, two teams won 100 games.

This uneven playing field spilled over into the first half of the 2000s. From 2000-05, there were 10 teams that hit 100 wins.

But since 2010, only one team has cracked the century mark (the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies, who won 102).

The next highest win total in that span has been 98.

That’s parity, folks.

And that’s good for baseball.

It’s particularly good for teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates, who during that parity-less time had zero chance of winning anything — and not just because the talent on the field was lacking.

The baseball landscape was sloped markedly toward the wealthy teams.

Now, that landscape is a lot more level. Mid-market and small market teams have just as much chance to compete and win as the teams with the deep pockets.

As a product of this parity, though, the era of 100-win teams is all but over.

It’s difficult to dominate these days.

This season, the Oakland A’s are the only team with a legitimate shot at winning 100. To accomplish that goal, the A’s would have to go 27-16 down the stretch — certainly achievable, but not a certainty.

With an added wild-card spot, just about every team is still in a race of some sort.

Even at a mere eight games over .500, the Pirates are in the thick of the National League Central race.

Miami, three games under .500 as of Wednesday night, was only 4.5 games out of a wild card spot. San Diego, five games below even, was just six games out.

Boston, which could become the first team in MLB history to go from last place in a division to a World Series title and then back to last place in a division, is 10 games out of a wild card spot.

Should the Red Sox get hot and win 10 in a row, who knows?

That’s what makes baseball as healthy as it has been in a long while. Everyone has a shot.

It’s no surprise, then, that MLB is nearing NFL-like revenues. A recent report has MLB earning more than $8 billion last year.

In comparison, coming off the devastating strike that cost it the end of the 1994 season, MLB made $1.4 billion.

This money is now spread out more evenly among the teams and franchises like the Pirates are actually putting that money into the product on the field.

The results are obvious — and good for Pittsburgh.

Mike Kilroy is staff writer for the Butler Eagle.