The 2024 Chicago White Sox went 41-121 (.253) and finished 5th out of 5 teams in the American League’s Central Division.
The White Sox were on a course to blow past the Mets loss record and then some. But they “rallied” to go 5-5 over their last 10 games to prevent them from obliterating the lowly record, and eked out the loss by a single game.
The White Sox history is one of ups and downs. The early 20th Century saw them as a dominant team that won a couple of pennants and World Series titles in 1906 and 1917. That 1917 White Sox team won 100 games and was one of the best and most popular teams in baseball…led by the incredible talent of Shoeless Joe Jackson. They were still relevant and represented the AL in the World Series later and, unfortunately, THAT team would become the most popular, and notorious, team in baseball…later dubbed the Black Sox for, allegedly, throwing that World Series.
The Sox would always take a back seat to the crosstown rival Cubs, even though the Cubs didn’t fare much better in the standings. In recent times, from 2013 on, the Sox would annually have a losing record losing 95, 100, and 89 games from 2017-2019.
In the Covid-shortened 2020 season, the Chisox actually went 35-25 and earned a playoff berth, losing in the Wild Card series. They came back in 2021 and won the AL Central Division with 93 wins, but lost the Division Series in four games.
It began a slow decline with a record of 81-81 in 2022, 61-101 in 2023, and the ultimate in humiliation in 2024. What happened?
There could be a lot of explanations but the fact is that they just weren’t very good. I know, that seems a bit ridiculous because it should be obvious from the record. But the roster was just a mish mosh of players who while might be good role players with other teams, they were not front-line talent.
The team batting average was a horrible .221 and the Sox hit 133 homers. Amazingly, no pitcher lost more than 15 games…but considering that teams use so many pitchers during the course of a season in this era, it’s not so surprising. And the team ERA was “only” 4.68. So you have to wonder how the team could have lost 121 games.
Probably the best way to look at it is that only one of the players is really sought after this off season in a trade, and that is 25-year-old southpaw pitcher Garrett Crochet who went 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA.
Believe it or not, the White Sox STILL drew 1,380,733 fans to Cellular Field and they were not even last or NEXT to last in attendance in the American League. And that’s even considering that the ballpark is in really bad neighborhood.
The 1962 New York Mets went 40-120 (.250) and finished 10th out of 10 teams in the National League.
The Mets were in their very first season of existence and had a roster with some very talented and popular players including Gil Hodges, Frank Thomas, and Richie Ashburn, but a lot of the players were way past their primes.
The big names drew big crowds and the turnstiles in the Polo Grounds where the Mets initially called home still produced nearly a million people…good enough for 6th out of 10 teams in the National League.
The Mets offense was not horrible and some players, like Frank Thomas, actually had productive seasons. But the pitching was downright awful. The Mets went with a four-man rotation and each had an ERA well over 4.00, two lost 20 games and another lost 19. The staff ERA? 5.04.
And that wasn’t even the worst of it. They lost in the most absurd ways…it was almost comical. Marvelous Marv Throneberry hitting a triple and missing both first AND second base on his way to being called out. That was just a SMALL example of the carnival-like atmosphere that season.
The fans and media loved it all. But it was, after all, the team’s very first season. But not quite sure that makes them the “worst” team ever.
The 1935 Boston Braves went 38-115 (.248) and finished 8th out of 8 teams in the National League.
The Braves franchise actually dates all the way back to 1876…that’s right…one of the original Major League Baseball teams. The Atlanta Braves were the Milwaukee Braves and before that they were the Boston Braves.
The Boston Braves were not the most successful franchise but they did, somehow managed to reverse their fortunes, winning 94 games and sweeping the Philadelphia A’s in the 1914 World Series…only to have it tarnished by the allegations that the A’s players threw the Series.
They would go into a tailspin following that Series and some 21 years later would suffer the worst seson in franchise history.
There weren’t many recognizable names on that team…except for one Hall of Famer – Babe Ruth. The Babe was 40 years old and was a player-coach on that team, getting 92 at bats and hit .181 while managing 6 home runs.
Ya never know what you will find when you go down the rabbit hole, and I found on this team a player named Wally Berger. The 25-year-old outfielder actually led the National League with 34 home runs and 130 RBI while hitting .295. As it turns out, he had a really good career, finishing with a career .300 average and 242 home runs. Yet you probably have never heard of him. I think he just may deserve a story of his own.
The Braves hit .263 as team and the offense wasn’t horrible. But the starting pitching WAS horrible. One starter lost 25 games and he actually had the lowest ERA of 4.61. The team ERA was last in the National League…and the fielding was right near the bottom. All said, it contributed to a dreadful season.
The Braves were still not last in attendance, they managed to stay out of the cellar by drawing 232,754 fans to Braves Field in Boston.
1916 Philadelphia A’s went 36-117-1 (.235) and finished 8th out of 8 teams in the American League.
The A’s were a team that vied for championship and WON championships. They actually won three out of four World Series from 1910 to 1913.
But in 1914 they lost and were embarrassed in the World Series. The legendary owner/manager Connie Mack, in disgust, and in the shadow of allegations that his team threw that Series (sounds a lot like the 1919 White Sox saga), sold off all the players and cleaned house.
The result was team of young players who were totally overmatched. The oldest player on the roster was 28 years old…with the exception of one player – Nap Lajoie.
Lajoie, at 41 years old, was actually in his second tour of duty with the A’s, finishing out his Hall of Fame career in 1916. The career .338 hitter only managed to his .246 before calling it quits. But that is not even the story.
It would actually set off an 11-year period of losing, finishing dead last seven years in a row.
The 1916 team was just brutal. They didn’t hit. (.242 batting average with very few extra base hits.) They didn’t pitch. (Staff ERA of 3.92 and WHIP of 1.508.) And they weren’t great in the field. (Led the AL in errors and had the lowest fielding percentage.)
They were pitiful and the fans didn’t show up…with only 184,471 coming out to Shibe Park. Believe it or not, that wasn’t even the worst in the league.
So looking at the 2024 Chisox, the 1962 Mets, the 1935 Braves, and the 1916 A’s – four teams that gave fans something to shake their heads at – the White Sox actually don’t have the worst record…and neither do the Mets. The Braves are close. But it’s the 1916 A’s that actually have the worst record overall with a paltry .235 winning percentage. And think about it…they also won the least amount of games as well.
At least the 1962 Mets were so entertaining that the famous author Jimmy Breslin wrote his book Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game? The other teams haven’t been so honored. Perhaps I should get started on that?
