White Sox suffer 121st defeat to set modern-era MLB loss record
Published
The Chicago White Sox have made MLB history for all the wrong reasons.
The ChiSox lost to the Detroit Tigers 4-1 on Friday, falling for the 121st time this season to set a modern era record, breaking a tie with the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in a season since 1900. The all-time record came in 1899, when the Cleveland Spiders went 20-134, a wining percentage of .130.
The White Sox broke their franchise record for losses in a season on Sept. 1, falling 2-0 to the New York Mets for their 107th defeat, eclipsing the 1970 team’s previous high of 106 losses.
Chicago fired manager Pedro Grifol on Aug. 8, a day after dropping to 28-99 on the season. They replaced him with Grady Sizemore on an interim basis.
“There’s no sense in harping over the record right now,” Sizemore said before the team lost its 107 game. “Our job right now is to try to get a win today. We’re trying to just improve on every day and get better as each series goes on. My message has been the same since I got here. It’s not about the record. It’s not about wins. It’s just about competing and playing together as a team.”
In terms of futility, the White Sox 2024 season already stacks up among the worst all-time in North American sports history. Three NFL teams have gone winless across an entire season, with the 2008 Detroit Lions and 2017 Cleveland Browns each going 0-16. The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14 before the season was expanded to 16 games.
The 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats (7-59), 2011 Tulsa Shock (3-31) and 1974-75 Washington Capitals (8-67-5) hold the modern NBA, WNBA and NHL records, respectively.