The Chicago White Sox on Friday broke Major League Baseball's 62-year-old single-season record with the most losses during a season with their 121st defeat against the Detroit Tigers. The White Sox lost the game 4-1. This came after they had won three games in a row against the Los Angeles Angels and had hovered at 120 losses.
On Thursday, the Sox shut out the Angels 7-0. The 121 losses eclipsed the total that the 1962 expansion New York Mets recorded. The White Sox had already surpassed the 2003 Detroit Tigers, a team that lost 119 games, setting the American League record.
MLB only counts records set in the modern era, which began in 1900, so the 1899 Cleveland Spiders' all-time record of 134 losses is not included. The incredible feat of futility was the culmination of a long, grueling season in which the White Sox recorded multiple double-digit losing streaks, including a 14-game skid from May 22 to June 6, and then an American League-record 21-game losing streak between July 10 and Aug. 5.
All that losing led to the firing of manager Pedro Grifol during just his second season at the helm. In less than two seasons, Grifol led the team to more than twice as many losses as he did wins. Grady Sizemore took over as interim manager for the rest of the season.
The White Sox then recorded another 12-game losing streak that lasted from Aug. 23 through Sept. 3.
It's been a season unlike anything fans of the franchise, which will mark the 20th anniversary of its last World Series w.
