White Sox on Brink of Infamy: Can They Avoid Historic Collapse with 107 Losses and Counting
Chicago White Sox on Brink of Making History as Worst Team in MLB
The Chicago White Sox are in danger of going down as the worst team in major league history. They recorded their 107th loss of the season with a 0-2 loss in a home game against the New York Mets held at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.
This is a figure that surpasses the club’s record of 106 losses set in 1970, and sets a new, dishonorable record for the first time in 54 years. The White Sox had a chance to score on Gavin Sheets’ hit in the bottom of the 7th with 2 outs and a runner on 1st, but the game ended without a score as Miguel Vargas hit a fly ball.
The weak batting lineup, which only had 2 hits, was also a problem in the game, and although left-handed starting pitcher Garrett Crochet struck out 7 batters in a row, tying the American League record, he could not save the team from defeat.
The White Sox currently have a .225 winning percentage, the worst in Major League Baseball. That would surpass the .235 (36-117) of the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics, the lowest winning percentage in modern baseball (since 1901). They are also on track to surpass the 1962 New York Mets’ record of 120 losses in a season.
The White Sox need to win at least 11 of their remaining 24 games to avoid a record-breaking loss, which doesn’t seem likely at this point. The team has been in a severe slump since the All-Star break, going 4-36, and have lost three 10-game streaks during the season.
They are the first team to have lost 10 games in a season three or more times since the 1965 New York Mets. In the midst of this slump, the White Sox, who had lost 21 games in a row, fired manager Pedro Grifol and hired Grady Sizemore as interim manager, but have shown no signs of recovery.
“We’re just fighting every day to play better baseball,” Sizemore said after the game. “My message hasn’t changed since I’ve been here.”
The White Sox’s slump is also highlighted by the comparison with the 1962 Mets. At that time, the Mets had a weak first year and recorded 120 losses, but they were reborn as the “Amazing Mets” by winning the World Series in just seven years.
However, the current White Sox are having their worst season despite their long history and experience, not because of their weaknesses in the early days of their founding, and fans are even more disappointed.
The White Sox need a comeback to save their pride in the remaining games if they want to avoid the worst season in major league history, but that fight doesn’t look easy given their current poor form.