With merely a week remaining in the 2024 Major League Baseball season, the Chicago White Sox are on the brink of completing an unthinkable descent into the annals of baseball ignominy, potentially finishing with the worst record in modern baseball history. As it stands, the White Sox's dismal 36-120 record ties them with the infamous 1962 New York Mets, who also amassed 120 losses in their season.
The White Sox still have six games left to play, but the likelihood of them reversing their fortunes in this short span is slim, given their woeful performance throughout the season. Offensively, Chicago has struggled mightily, hitting a pitiful .220/.278/.339, well below the league-average slash line of .244/.312/.400. This translates to an OPS+ of just 76, positioning them 24% below the league average in terms of on-base plus slugging.
Even more telling of their offensive struggles is the home run department. The team has managed just 127 long balls this season, ranking dead last in the league. Not a single player has hit the 20-home run mark, a testament to their lack of power. Their inefficiency at the plate is highlighted by their average of just 3.07 runs per game, the lowest in the league. Comparatively, the Rays, who rank just above them in 29th place, are scoring at a relatively better rate of 3.78 runs per game.
Defensive struggles have compounded their misery. The White Sox have been the worst team defensively with -83 total zone runs, dragging them well below the Marlins’ -53 total zone runs, who rank 29th in the league. The Brewers and Mariners, on the other hand, are tied at the top with a total zone run of 46.
Looking at individual performances, Andrew Vaughn leads the White Sox in both RBIs (67) and runs (54). However, his individual contribution places him 103rd out of 130 qualifying players in the race for the batting title in terms of OPS.
Pitching hasn’t offered any solace either. Erick Fedde, the team’s leader in WAR, has been on the sidelines since July 27, yet his performance nevertheless highlights the chasm between the White Sox and the rest of the league in this metric. The team collectively has a FanGraphs' WAR of -6.8, the only negative figure in the league. The next closest team, the Rockies, has a positive WAR of 4.1.
The White Sox's road record stands at a dreadful 16-62, the worst in the league, contrasted by the Rockies' 24 wins on the road. At home, the White Sox fare no better, with 20-58 being the poorest record, just below the Marlins’ 30-51 home record. This season has seen the White Sox set new low-water marks, eclipsing their previous record of 55 road losses and 53 home losses in a single season.
Lengthy slumps have become a hallmark of their season, with losing streaks of 21, 14, and 12 games. They’ve additionally endured spells of seven games, six games, and two separate five-game losing streaks, one of which is ongoing. To put it in perspective, before this season, the White Sox had only experienced losing streaks of 12 games or more three times in their history—in 1924, 1927, and 1967.
Since the All-Star break, the team has managed a paltry 9-49 record. No team has historically won fewer than 15 games in a complete second half of the season. The A's hold the record, having gone 15-61 in both 1915 and 1943. This dismal performance included their “best” months, May and June, each with a 9-19 record, while their worst month, July, witnessed an abysmal 3-22 record.
In terms of their matchups, the White Sox managed winning records against just five teams: the Braves (2-1), Rockies (2-1), Cardinals (2-1), Rays (4-2), and Nationals (2-1). Against their AL Central competitors, they have fared atrociously, going 12-41.
The 2024 season has unequivocally become the worst in Major League Baseball history for the Chicago White Sox. As they head into their final week of play, the team must confront the stark reality of a season marred by inefficiency and disappointment on all fronts, setting the stage for inevitable introspection and reconsideration of their approach going forward.