With just one week remaining in the 2024 Major League Baseball season, the Chicago White Sox are on the brink of making history for all the wrong reasons. At an abysmal 36-120, the White Sox have tied the ignominious 1962 New York Mets with 120 losses, and with six games left to play, they are set to surpass that mark, further etching their names into the annals of baseball infamy.
This season, the White Sox's offensive and defensive struggles have been emblematic of their dismal overall performance. The team's slash line of .220/.278/.339 sits well below the league-average of .244/.312/.400, highlighting their offensive deficiencies. With a meager 76 OPS+, the White Sox are 24% worse than the league average in getting on base and hitting for power. Notably, the team has managed just 127 home runs for the entire season, ranking dead last in the league, with no single player reaching the 20-home run milestone.
The offensive woes have been glaring, as evidenced by the team's pitiful average of 3.07 runs per game—the lowest in the league. For context, the Tampa Bay Rays, who rank 29th in runs per game, average 3.78 runs, significantly higher than the White Sox. This offensive futility has resulted in the team being outscored 799-479, leading to a staggering -320 run differential.
Andrew Vaughn has been one of the few bright spots on the roster, leading the team in both RBIs and runs with 67 and 54 respectively. Yet even Vaughn's contributions highlight the team's struggles; he ranks 103rd out of 130 qualifying players in OPS for the batting title.
Defensively, the White Sox have fared no better. They rank as the worst defensive team in the league with -83 total zone runs, a significant gap from the Miami Marlins who rank 29th with -53 total zone runs. In stark contrast, the Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners lead the league in total zone runs, each with a positive 46.
The pitching staff has also been plagued by issues, with Erick Fedde, the team's leader in WAR, sidelined since July 27. Collectively, the White Sox hold a dismal -6.8 in FanGraphs' version of WAR, making them the only team in the league with a negative figure. The Colorado Rockies, who are 29th in this metric, at least stand at a positive 4.1.
Their abysmal performance extends beyond individual metrics. The White Sox have the worst road record at 16-62, with the Rockies holding the next fewest road wins at 24. Their home record is equally disheartening at 20-58, the worst in the league, with the Marlins having the next fewest home wins at 30-51. Before this season, the White Sox had never lost more than 55 road games or 53 home games in a single season.
The White Sox have experienced several lengthy slumps throughout the season, including losing streaks of 21, 14, and 12 games. They have also endured additional losing streaks of seven, six, and two stints of five games, with one of those still active. Historically, the White Sox had only suffered losing streaks of 12 or more games three times before: in 1924, 1927, and 1967.
Since the All-Star break, the White Sox are 9-49. No team in the history of Major League Baseball has ever won fewer than 15 games in a full second half, a dubious record currently held by the Athletics, who went 15-61 both in 1915 and 1943.
May and June were the “high points” of the season, with the White Sox posting 9-19 records in each month. Their worst month came in July, where they went 3-22. Despite these struggles, they managed to scrape winning records against five teams: the Braves (2-1), Rockies (2-1), Cardinals (2-1), Rays (4-2), and Nationals (2-1).
Within their own division, the AL Central, the White Sox are 12-41, failing to leverage any home-field advantage or divisional familiarity.
In summary, the 2024 season is likely to go down as the worst in Major League Baseball history for the Chicago White Sox. Their offensive and defensive metrics underscore the levels of futility, coupled with historically bad records both at home and on the road. With six games left to play, the White Sox are poised to set a new low in baseball history.