The 2024 Major League Baseball season is drawing to a close, but for the Chicago White Sox, the end cannot come soon enough. With just one week remaining, the White Sox are on the brink of finishing with the worst record in modern baseball history.
Sitting at a dismal 36-120, they have already tied the infamous 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in a single season. With six games left to play, the possibility of setting a new mark for futility looms large over a team that has struggled in every facet of the game this year.
Struggles at the Plate
The White Sox’s offense has been nothing short of abysmal. As a team, they are hitting .220/.278/.339, a far cry from the league-average slash line of .244/.312/.400. Their offensive inefficacy is further highlighted by a meager 76 OPS+, indicating that they are performing 24% worse than the league average when it comes to getting on base and hitting for power.
With just 127 home runs—ranking dead last in the league—not a single White Sox player has managed to hit more than 20 round-trippers this season. The offensive woes extend to run production, as the team averages a league-low 3.07 runs per game. In stark contrast, the Tampa Bay Rays, who rank 29th in runs per game, average 3.78 runs. This stark gap underscores the White Sox’s offensive struggles.
Defensive and Pitching Woes
The struggles are not confined to the batter's box. Defensively, the White Sox have been the league's worst unit, tallying -83 total zone runs. To put this in perspective, the Miami Marlins, who rank 29th, have a slightly better but still poor -53 total zone runs. The league's best defensive teams, the Brewers and Mariners, are tied at 46 total zone runs.
Pitching has offered little respite. Erick Fedde, the team’s leader in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), hasn’t pitched since July 27. This leaves the struggling White Sox with a collective WAR of -6.8 according to FanGraphs, making them the only team in the league with a negative figure. The Colorado Rockies, who rank 29th, still fare significantly better with a positive 4.1 WAR.
Home and Road Difficulties
The misery extends both at home and on the road. With a road record of 16-62, the White Sox are the league's worst travelling team. Even the Rockies have managed to win 24 road games. At home, the White Sox aren't faring much better with a 20-58 record, again the worst in the league. The Marlins, who have the second-fewest home wins, are 30-51.
This season has seen the White Sox set new franchise lows. Prior to this year, they had never lost more than 55 road games or 53 home games in a single season. Prolonged losing streaks have only compounded their problems. The team endured slumps of 21, 14, and 12 straight losses. Additionally, they have suffered losing streaks of seven, six, and two sequences of five, one of which is still active.
The Second-Half Collapse
The All-Star break offered no reprieve. Since then, the White Sox are 9-49. Historically, no team has won fewer than 15 games in a full second half, a dubious record held by the Athletics, who went 15-61 in both 1915 and 1943. The White Sox’s best months were May and June, each with a 9-19 record, while their worst was July, where they went 3-22.
Winning records against teams have been few and far between. The White Sox managed to notch winning records against only five teams: the Braves (2-1), Rockies (2-1), Cardinals (2-1), Rays (4-2), and Nationals (2-1). Their performance within the AL Central has been particularly dismal, going 12-41 against division rivals.
In what is shaping up to be the worst season in White Sox history, there is a stark realization: changes are needed. The statistics paint a grim picture, underscored by the frustration and disappointment of a fanbase that has watched their team spiral into an unprecedented level of failure. With just a few games left to salvage some pride, the future—while uncertain—cannot possibly be as bleak as the season that was.