With the 2024 Major League Baseball season nearing its conclusion, the Chicago White Sox are on the brink of setting a dubious record. Currently standing at 36-120, they have already matched the infamy of the 1962 New York Mets for the modern record of 120 losses. With six games remaining on their schedule, the White Sox are painfully close to establishing the worst single-season record in modern baseball history.
The team’s performance at the plate has been nothing short of abysmal. They are batting a collective .220/.278/.339, significantly below the league-average slash line of .244/.312/.400. With a paltry 76 OPS+, the White Sox are 24% less effective at getting on base and hitting for power compared to the league average. Their power outage is even more glaring with the team ranking dead last in home runs, having hit just 127 all season. Shockingly, no player has reached the 20-home run milestone.
Offensive struggles are further highlighted by their league-worst average of just 3.07 runs per game. For context, the Tampa Bay Rays, who rank 29th in runs per game, still average 3.78. The White Sox have been outscored by a staggering margin of 799 to 479, leading to a whopping -320 run differential, the worst in the league by a significant margin.
Andrew Vaughn has been the standout player in an otherwise dismal lineup, leading the team in both RBIs (67) and runs (54). However, his performance ranks a mediocre 103rd out of 130 qualifying players in OPS for the batting title, underscoring the lackluster offense of the White Sox this season.
Defensive Woes Compound the Misery
Defensively, the White Sox have been just as bad, if not worse. They rank as the worst in the league with -83 total zone runs. This is significantly poorer than the Miami Marlins, who are 29th with -53 total zone runs. For perspective, the best defensive teams, the Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners, are tied at 46 total zone runs.
Compounding their defensive deficiencies, the team has also suffered in the pitching department. Erick Fedde, who leads the team in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), hasn’t taken the mound since July 27. Collectively, the White Sox’s performance in FanGraphs' WAR metric registers a dismal -6.8, making them the only team in the league with a negative figure. By comparison, the Colorado Rockies, who are second-last, have a positive 4.1 WAR.
Home and Away Struggles
The White Sox's performance is equally deplorable both at home and on the road. Their road record stands at 16-62, the worst in the league, with the Rockies having the second fewest road wins at 24. Playing at home hasn’t offered any solace either; the White Sox are a lamentable 20-58, once again the poorest in the league. Before this season, the White Sox had never lost more than 55 road games or 53 home games in a single campaign.
Endless Slumps
The 2024 season has been riddled with prolonged slumps for the White Sox. They have endured losing streaks of 21, 14, and 12 straight games each. Additional losing streaks include seven games, six games, and two stints of five games, one of which is still active. Historically, the team had only suffered losing streaks of 12 games or more three times—in 1924, 1927, and 1967.
Post All-Star Break Collapse
Since the All-Star break, the White Sox have been a catastrophic 9-49. No team in MLB history has won fewer than 15 games in a full second half, a record held by the A's, who went 15-61 in both 1915 and 1943. The White Sox’s best months were May and June, where they posted identical 9-19 records. Their worst month, however, was July, where they went an abysmal 3-22.
Rare Bright Spots
Amid the gloom, there have been scant moments of hope. The White Sox managed winning records against only five teams this season: the Braves (2-1), Rockies (2-1), Cardinals (2-1), Rays (4-2), and Nationals (2-1). Yet, their performance against divisional rivals has been atrocious; they are 12-41 against the rest of the AL Central.
In what is shaping up as the worst season in Chicago White Sox history, the final week will determine if they cement their place with the worst record in modern baseball history. It’s a painful denouement for a franchise steeped in tradition and a sobering reminder of the brutal realities of America’s pastime.