The 1962 Mets have owned one of the most notable records of futility — being the worst team in Major League Baseball history — through seven different decades when they won just 40 out of 160 games (40-120) in their inaugural season.
Now, 62 years later, the Chicago White Sox are giving them a long-awaited run for their money.
Monday night saw the Southsiders of the Windy City tie an American League record previously owned by the 1988 Baltimore Orioles with their 21st consecutive loss, which drops them to 27-88 on the 2024 season.
They are the seventh team in MLB’s modern era (since 1900) to lose 20 or more games in succession, joining the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore, the 1969 Montreal Expos, the 1916 and 1943 Philadelphia Athletics, and the 1906 Boston Americans.
At their current pace, Chicago is on pace to go 38-124, which would be a full two games worse than those 1962 Casey Stengel-led Amazins while dwarfing their win percentage, too (.234 to .250).
Through 115 games, the White Sox’s 27 wins are the fewest since MLB expanded its schedule to 162 games in 1961. Only the 1916 Athletics (25 wins), who went 36-117, and the 1904 Washington Senators (26), who went 38-113, have fewer wins in their first 115 games in the modern era.
The 1962 Mets were three games better than the 2024 White Sox at this point, with 30 wins in their first 115 games. They went 10-35 in their final 45 games of that year. To clinch a new record, Chicago will have to go 12-35 or worse to take the mantle as the worst team in MLB history.
For more on the Mets, visit AMNY.com
Read more: White Sox Near 1962 Mets’ Record for Worst MLB Season
