SAN DIEGO — The Chicago White Sox dropped their 120th game of the year, falling 4-2 on Sunday to the San Diego Padres, a defeat that tied the modern baseball record for losses in a single-season. That dubious mark had previously been held alone by the historically hapless 1962 New York Mets. With six games left to play, the White Sox need only one more loss to secure the record all to themselves, thus completing a six-month march to infamy.
Those 1962 Mets went 40-120 in their debut season. That team was cobbled together in an expansion draft. That team had every excuse in the book to be bad. By contrast, the White Sox are charter members of the American League. They’ve won their division four times in the last 25 years. There should be no viable path to a record like this. And, yet, they’re poised to surpass the modern standard of losing established by the Mets.
The White Sox got swept in a series for the 24th time this season.
Now that they have caught the Mets, the White Sox are not only poised to break the loss record, but potentially to clear it by a lot. They have three games remaining at home against the lowly Angels. Then they finish the season with the red-hot, playoff-hopeful Tigers in Detroit.
The organization seemed to have accepted the inevitable nature of this record. At a time when the Oakland A’s have disabled replies on social media due to an angry fanbase, the White Sox are leaning into the despair of it all.
“FINAL: can be found on the MLB app,” the club’s official X account posted after Saturday’s loss. “FINAL: the other team scored more runs than us,” was posted last week after a 13-inning heartbreaker.
General manager Chris Getz acknowledged the likelihood of setting a new record two weeks ago, and on Saturday manager Grady Sizemore didn’t push back when asked about what now appears to be inevitable. He sounded like a man that knew it was coming, but wanted to change the subject.
“More than the wins and losses, we’re trying to develop this team for next year,” he said. “That’s the focus. Getting better. Trying to win series. Trying to see what we have with some of these young guys and put them in positions where they can succeed. The focus is less on the wins and losses.”
The focus being elsewhere is probably for the best. Because when it comes to wins and losses, it is now official: no team in modern baseball is worse.
(Top photo of White Sox players looking out from their dugout on Sunday: Denis Poroy / Getty Images)
