Chicago White Sox: Most Losses in a Modern MLB Season
The Chicago White Sox made history for all the wrong reasons Sunday, setting an MLB modern-day record with their 116th loss this season. Their 121st ‘L’ of the season — courtesy of a 4-1 setback to the Tigers on Friday night — came in what has already been a Sisyphean task, and maybe their nadir.
Breaking the Wrong Record
The White Sox officially joined history on Friday night with their 121st loss of the 2024 season. With the loss, Arizona shattered the previous record of 120, set by the 1962 New York Mets. The Sox could not escape this ignominy no matter how hard they tried, making the 2021 season one of the worst campaigns in baseball history for fans.
A Flicker of Light in a Dark Season
It was a record loss for the White Sox, who managed to get a small positive out of it. Mariners first-round pick selects cancel stint as a waiter to make MLB debut.Outfielder Zach Deloach slugged his first Major League home run, pulling Seattle within 2-1 in the sixth. But the Tigers made their bid to end this stretch of futility in the seventh inning when they scored three runs, championing a 4-1 win and clinching their first playoff berths from an American League since 2014.
A Season Full of Struggles
Chicago: The White Sox got off to an atrocious start, winning just three of their first 25 games. What followed was a franchise-worst 14-game losing streak and, later a 21-game skid that matched the worst in American League history with the 1988 Baltimore Orioles.
However, like how they responded to those last four losses with a sweep of the Los Angeles Angels earlier in the week, putzing their way through another game simply wasn’t going to suffice when it came time for them not to escape breaking the modern-day loss record.
Social media typically uses the form of humor
In a season that balanced the line between comedy and tragedy, as the team did not fare better than 70-92 while in competition on the field, only making it possible for the largely anonymous White Sox social media team to slyly chime in with hilarious barbs post-loss. A few days after the record-breaking loss on Friday, they posted a screenshot of a desktop with the final score, sad mascot meme, and “things we’d rather do than read comments.
Braves fans happy that team won’t go winless this season. These humorous posts have led to some much-needed laughter for a fanbase struggling through 106-loss woes.
Grady Sizemore: ‘Not the Year We Hoped For’
Grady Sizemore, who took over as interim manager after the firing of Pedro Grifol in August, recognized it was a difficult year. ”We all know it’s not the season, but at least we finished playing, 121st loss,” he said. That said, Sizemore was upbeat: “We can only go up from here. But we learn from that and move forward.
White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet echoed those sentiments at well, saying, “We kind of just put ourselves in this position from the jump. This is where we are because of our style of play. But that’s just all it is.”
History of MLB’s Worst Teams
The White Sox will go down in history as the team with the most losses in the modern era (since 1901), but they are far away from being close to the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, who lost an incredible 134 games. Originally and still members of the National League, the Spiders went just 20-134 that year.
What Comes Next for the White Sox?
The White Sox have two more games vs. the Detroit Tigers this season and they are hoping to finish off their 2024 campaign on a better note. No matter what happens, the tide will be to rebuild and to get ready for tomorrow. Both fans and players are counting down the days until this arduous season ends.
Conclusion: From the Worst Lost in History
The Chicago White Sox are looking ahead to next season, and as disappointing of a year as this was for them, they finished it with their heads up after suffering their record 121st defeat. The 2023 season has been miserable, but the team is hoping that they can regroup for 2024, improved and stronger in the future.
Baseball fans wanting to savor these last few moments of the season need to tune in, because the White Sox have two more games against the Tigers before mercifully heading back home and putting this Tough Year behind them.