It looked like the Chicago White Sox might finally catch a break from their losing streak when Garrett Crochet was striking out batter after batter at the beginning of the game.
But this is the White Sox, and in a season full of misfortunes, they added another to their list: setting a franchise record for losses in a single season.
The loss number reached 107 when the New York Mets beat them 2-0 on Sunday. At their current pace, the White Sox are on track to break the modern-era record for losses in baseball.
“There’s no sense in harping over the record right now,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said before the game. “Our job right now is to try to get a win today. We’re trying to just improve every day and get better as each series goes on.
My message has been the same since I got here. It’s not about the record. It’s not about wins. It’s just about competing and playing together as a team.”
Chicago (31-107) surpassed the club record for losses set by the 1970 team. The White Sox also completed their first 0-10 homestand in franchise history, becoming the first team since the 1965 Mets to have three 10-game losing streaks in one season.
The White Sox need to go 12-12 in their remaining games to avoid tying the expansion 1962 Mets (40-120-1) for the most losses by a team since 1900. That seems unlikely, as Chicago is on track to finish 36-126. On a more positive note, the 1899 Cleveland Spiders’ record of 134 losses is still safe.
Chicago’s remaining schedule is a mix of challenges, starting with a tough three-game series at Baltimore and then heading to Boston. They also have three home games against AL Central leader Cleveland from September 9-11 and games at San Diego from September 20-22.
Leaving town might be a good thing for the White Sox. They’ve lost 12 games in a row at Guaranteed Rate Field, matching their worst streak of the season. Their previous worst homestand was going 0-7 from May 23-29.
“There’s not really a perspective to put into it at this point,” Crochet said. “It sucks to say that we’ve been here before and we’ve dug ourselves out of it with a win. We just continue to come to the field every day fighting and playing a good brand of baseball.”
Garrett Crochet, one of the few bright spots for the team, tied an American League record on Sunday by striking out the first seven batters and had a total of eight strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.
The All-Star left-hander allowed one run and three hits, with no walks. The White Sox are limiting his pitching because he missed most of the last two seasons after Tommy John surgery and was a reliever before that.
Apart from Crochet, finding positives for the team is tough.
Chicago has been shut out 15 times and has lost 22 series sweeps— the most in the majors— after the Mets won all three games. The White Sox are 4-36 since the All-Star break and 3-18 under interim manager Grady Sizemore.
Chicago fired manager Pedro Grifol three weeks ago, just a few days after the team ended a 21-game losing streak that tied the American League record. Grifol was in his second season as a major league manager after a long career in baseball, with an 89-190 record.
The White Sox also had a 14-game losing streak from May 22 to June 6, which was a team record until the 21-game slide from July 10 to August 5.
The situation is so dire that the White Sox announced last month they’re reducing season-ticket prices for 2025 by an average of 10%. The team has been in a sharp decline since making the playoffs in 2020 and 2021.
