Just one year after watching the Chicago White Sox set the modern-day major league record for most losses in a season, the Colorado Rockies seem to be saying, ‘Hold my Coors.’
The NL West cellar-dwellers are on a frighteningly similar pace this season, hitting the All-Star break with a 22-74 mark (.229) and threatening to eclipse the White Sox’s historic level of futility.
Chicago finished the 2024 season with 41 wins and 121 losses – a winning percentage of .253.
However, the Rockies have been on a bit of a roll since returning to action after the break. In three series against Minnesota, St. Louis and Baltimore, they posted a 5-4 record (although one of those losses was an atrociously ugly 18-0 shutout by the Orioles).
Through 105 games, the Rockies are 27-78 with a .257 winning percentage that has them slightly better than the 2024 White Sox. But there’s still a long way to go.
Most losses in MLB season (since 1900)
- 2024 Chicago White Sox: 121
- 1962 New York Mets: 120
- 2003 Detroit Tigers: 119
- 1916 Philadelphia Athletics: 117
- 2018 Baltimore Orioles: 115
- 1935 Boston Braves: 115
- 2019 Detroit Tigers: 114
- 1904 Washington Senators: 113
(Source: Baseball-Reference.com)
Worst team in baseball history
The one team the Rockies will not surpass is the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, who posted a record of 20-134, for a ‘winning’ percentage of .130.
The Spiders had been a powerhouse in the fledgling National League for some time until the team’s owners purchased the bankrupt NL club in St. Louis and transferred almost all of the Spiders’ best players (including legendary pitcher Cy Young) to St. Louis.
As a result, the undermanned Spiders finished the 1899 season with an all-time worst record of 20-134. The Spiders were one of four NL teams to be contracted at the end of that season.