We have seen and heard of the Bad News Bears, now the White Sox have joined that mix. The Chicago White Sox got back to their losing ways on Friday night after a modest 3-game winning streak at home against the Los Angeles Angels. They dropped a 4-1 decision to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in front of a sold-out crowd for their unprecedented 121st loss of the season, the most in MLB history. The L broke the previous record set by the New York Mets, who were the new kids on the block, way back in 1962.
“I think the frustration has been long before the number,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said afterward. “Again, I think it is one of those things where you are not happy, regardless, but I don’t know that I would feel any different if we were at 115 or 110. It’s still a frustrating year.”
How far they have fallen in just a few short years. The Southsiders won 93 games and the American League Central division in 2021 but have been experiencing a free fall since. The White Sox won 81 games in 2022 and 61 last season. They have won 39 games so far in 2024, with two games left on their schedule.
After the Friday loss, the White Sox posted a meme making light of the situation to social media of a computer desktop with a list of “Things we’d rather do than read comments” and a photo of the team mascot sitting against a wall with the caption “slams laptop shut til tomorrow.”
“Obviously, it sucks,” said Garrett Crochet, who took the mound and started for the White Sox and had a no-decision Friday. “We put ourselves in this position early on. We had a bad April. We just never dug ourselves out of that hole. We are where we are because of the way we played, which sucks.”
Offense has been Chicago’s Achilles heel. The White Sox are ranked near the bottom in a number of major statistical categories, and came into Tuesday in the cellar in the MLB in hits, runs, home runs, batting average, runs batted in, total bases, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. If there is one ‘bright spot’, the team is 29th in walks drawn, however.
Embed from Getty ImagesFirst baseman Andrew Vaughn, hitting .248 this season, has the highest batting average on the team, and 87th in the league.
The White Sox began the season with an embarrassing 3-22 record, the worst 25-game start in franchise history, and could never dig themselves out of that hole.
“It’s been an extremely difficult year for everybody,” outfielder Gavin Sheets said. “It’s been hard mentally, hard physically. I feel bad for everybody in this room, to be a part of this. To see Detroit celebrating, that was us only four years ago. It’s frustrating. It doesn’t feel good.”
On August 5, the White Sox lost their 21st consecutive game of the season, another harsh franchise record for their fans to swallow, becoming the first team since 1988 to lose at least 21 games in a row. After winning nine games each in the months of May and June, the ballclub won a sparse seven games combined in July and August.
“It doesn’t sit well with any of us,” Sheets said. “But unfortunately, it’s where we’re at right now. It’s everybody’s job in this room to make sure we move forward and never let this happen again.”
Sheets was asked how he felt when the 27th and final out was recorded for the Tigers.
“I didn’t know how I’d feel during it,” Sheets said. “This whole time, the difference in 120 and 121 isn’t a better season or more of a success. … Winning three in a row, we thought we could maybe do something special and ride it out and win six in a row, and you start to believe in that and think it’s maybe not going to happen.
“And all of a sudden, on the last out, you realize, you’re on the wrong side of history. It hurt a little more than I expected it to.”
The White Sox fired skipper Pedro Grifol on August 8. Former player and three-time All-Star Grady Sizemore has been the team’s interim manager since.
Chicago has only qualified for the postseason three times since their World Series win in 2005 — 2008, the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and 2021. The team has won only three playoff games in the past nineteen years.
The White Sox currently have the 18th-highest payroll in the 30-team MLB, according to Spotrac. Their average age, 26.1, is the second-youngest in baseball.
