There’s been no shortage of ways to illustrate that the Chicago White Sox are having the horror season of all horror seasons, but a new one arrived Saturday.
The White Sox lost 5-3 to the New York Mets, tying a franchise record with their 106th loss of the season. There is a full month (25 games) left in the regular season. The loss was also their ninth straight, in a season that had already seen separate losing streaks of 21 and 14 games.
If they lose on Sunday, they will have the three longest skids in MLB this season (the Pittsburgh Pirates are currently third with 10 straight losses as of earlier this month).
Every loss is unique, though. In this one, the Mets took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on solo homers by Jesse Winker and Pete Alonso. Chicago trailed 5-2 going into the ninth, but got the tying run on a double by Miguel Vargas and a single by Jacob Amaya.
Vargas scored on a fielder’s choice by Corey Julks, but that was all the White Sox would get.
The White Sox are on the verge of a place in MLB history they can never get out of. They were eliminated from playoff contention on Aug. 17, making them the earliest team ever to do so. They are on pace for a 37-125 record, which would break the record for most losses in a season. They are already getting sympathy from the current owners of that record, the 1962 Mets at 40-120.
It really has been that bad, and now they have a whole month to make it worse. At this point, they should be thankful that the 1899 Cleveland Spiders and their 20-134 record exist, and lament that the modern era in MLB history began in 1900.
