- The White Sox’s 4-2 defeat to the San Diego Padres was their 120th loss of the season
- Only the 1962 expansion New York Mets have lost 120 games in a season since 1900
- With six games to go, the White Sox could yet break the record
Chicago White Sox fans have been praying for this season to end for a long time. And, with just six games left to go before they are put out of their misery, the South Siders’ 2024 team could be immortalised in infamy, moreso than they already are.
Following yesterday’s (September 22) defeat to the San Diego Padres, the White Sox equalled the 1962 expansion New York Mets’ post-1900 record of 120 losses in a single season.
Now standing at 36-120 for the year, the White Sox have six remaining games (three against the LA Angels and three against the Detroit Tigers) in which they could (and, let’s face it, likely will. No offence, Sox fans) set a new record.
The Sox had taken a 2-1 lead against the Padres following home runs from Korey Lee and Miguel Vargas off Yu Darvish. But an eighth inning rally from San Diego banished any hopes of the Sox steering clear of equalling the ’62 Mets unwanted record.
Not since 1899 has a team lost more than 120 games in a season, when the Cleveland Spiders went 20-134. However, the Spiders owners, Frank and Stanley Robison, had offloaded all of the team’s best players to their newly acquired St.Louis franchise at the beginning of the season. The 1899 campaign would be the Spiders last.
So, although they are on course for the worst season major league season in 125 years, at least the White Sox don’t have enough games left to knock the Cleveland Spiders off their mighty pedestal. Every cloud, Sox fans.
The MLB’s postseason, which White Sox fans will probably go well out of their way to avoid, will begin to take shape over the next few days as next week’s wildcard series pans out, with six games of the regular season remaining. The Padres victory over the Sox keeps them on course for a potential postseason berth, with the Yankees, Phillies, Dodgers, Brewers and Guardians already assured of postseason baseball.
Elsewhere, the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers are all in good shape coming down the home stretch of the regular season. This postseason will be the first time MLB’s playoff games will be broadcast on the BBC in the United Kingdom, with the league securing a deal with the public broadcaster to expand their coverage in the UK after the continued success of the London Series since 2019.
