White Sox Match 1962 Mets' Record For Losses, Set New Standard For Futility

The White Sox officially own the worst record in modern MLB history, tying the 162 New York Mets for 120 losses in a season. While the Mets set the standard for mediocrity the White Sox have lowered the bar. 

Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the Padres on Sunday marked the 24th time the White Sox have been swept this season. Their march to 120 losses only took 156 games. The 1962 Mets did it in 160 games and had the excuse of being an expansion team. The record-setting 121st loss will inevitably come sometime this week placing the White Sox in uncharted territory. 

It is truly remarkable just how low the White Sox have sunk. Nothing has seemed to go right for them this season. Moves they made in the offseason did not pan out, trades they have made have yielded few early returns, routine plays have been booted, soft contact given up always seems to drop in for a hit, and game-winning home runs they have hit have been robbed. In one-run games, the White Sox are 11-29 this season. In extra innings, they have won just three of 13. 

Korey Lee, likely tired of being asked about it each week, told the Chicago Sun-Times he wasn’t even aware the White Sox were closing in on the modern-day record for losses. 

“I don’t even know what’s going on,” Lee told reporters before Sunday’s loss. “I live in the moment. We play the Padres today. That’s the only thing on my mind today.” 

You can take the White Sox out of Pedro Grifol but sometimes you can’t take the Pedro Grifol out of the White Sox. The ‘flush it’ approach is one that many on the team have adopted this season. The team is filled with players frustrated by losing but trying to prove their worth in the big leagues, which means they don’t have much time to dwell on it. The team owns the seventh youngest group of hitters and the seventh youngest group of pitchers in the MLB. The effort has hardly been questioned, especially since interim manager Grady Sizemore took over. But winning with a team that enters every game outgunned is hard. 

Three years ago, the White Sox clinched the AL Central Division title. Now the White Sox are the only team in the AL Central division not vying for playoff contention. The Guardians lead the division with 90 wins, while the Tigers and Royals cling to two of the three wild card spots with the Twins lurking just one game back. Each of these teams owns a combined 33-3 record when playing the White Sox. However, when these teams are not playing the White Sox they own records under .500. 

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is a fan of baseball history. His office is reportedly filled with old memorabilia. Now his team has made some of his own. Whether or not it will be enough to provoke any sort of meaningful change is anyone’s guess.