With one week remaining in the 2024 Major League Baseball season, the Chicago White Sox are on the brink of finishing with the worst record in modern baseball history. At 36-120, they have already tied the infamous 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in a season. The remaining six games of the season will determine if the White Sox will set a new low mark in a sport known for its historical resilience and long seasons.
Offensively, the 2024 White Sox have struggled mightily. As a team, they are hitting .220/.278/.339, far below the league-average slash line of .244/.312/.400. Their meager 76 OPS+ indicates they are 24% worse than the league average in getting on base and hitting for power. Ranking dead last in home runs, the team has only managed 127 round-trippers all season, with no single player hitting the 20-home run milestone.
The offensive drought is further exemplified by the team's average of just 3.07 runs per game, the lowest in the league. To put this in perspective, the Tampa Bay Rays, who rank 29th, average 3.78 runs per game. The White Sox's inability to score has led to them being outscored 799-479, resulting in a staggering -320 run differential. Andrew Vaughn, leading the team with 67 RBIs and 54 runs, ranks 103rd out of 130 qualifying players in OPS.
Defensively, the White Sox have been equally dismal. They rank as the worst team in the league with -83 total zone runs. The Miami Marlins, who are 29th, have -53 total zone runs, while the Brewers and Mariners sit atop the leaderboard with 46. The White Sox's defensive lapses have been a significant contributor to their poor outing this season.
On the pitching front, Erick Fedde, the team's leader in WAR, hasn’t pitched since July 27, leaving the team woefully undermanned. Collectively, the White Sox's performance in FanGraphs' version of WAR is a dismal -6.8, making them the only team in the league with a negative figure. The Colorado Rockies, who are 29th, have a positive 4.1 WAR, highlighting the chasm between the White Sox and the rest of the league.
Their road record stands at a woeful 16-62, the worst in the league. Even the Rockies, next in line, have managed 24 road wins. At home, the White Sox are 20-58, again ranking as the worst. The Marlins, who have the next fewest home wins, sit at 30-51. Before this season, the White Sox had never lost more than 55 road games or 53 home games in a single season, making this year a significant outlier in their storied history.
The 2024 season has been marred by prolonged slumps, including losing streaks of 21, 14, and 12 games each. The team has also suffered additional streaks of seven, six, and two stints of five, one of which is still active. Prior to this season, the White Sox had experienced losing streaks of 12 games or more only three times in their history—in 1924, 1927, and 1967.
Since the All-Star break, the White Sox are 9-49, a record of futility not seen in over a century. No team has ever won fewer than 15 games in a full second half, a dubious record held by the A’s, who went 15-61 in 1915 and 1943. The White Sox’s best months this season were May and June, each with a 9-19 record. Their worst month, July, saw them go 3-22.
The few bright spots in an otherwise dismal season include winning records against the Braves (2-1), Rockies (2-1), Cardinals (2-1), Rays (4-2), and Nationals (2-1). However, against their own AL Central division, the White Sox have managed a paltry 12-41 record, further emphasizing their struggles within their own competitive sphere.
The 2024 season will go down as the worst in Major League Baseball history for the Chicago White Sox, a historical low point that fans and the organization alike will hope to quickly turn around in the coming years.