With just one week remaining in the 2024 Major League Baseball season, the Chicago White Sox find themselves on the verge of finishing with the worst record in modern baseball history. Sitting at a dismal 36-120, the White Sox have tied the infamous 1962 New York Mets with 120 losses, and they still have six games left to play.
The White Sox's offensive performance has been an exercise in futility. As a team, they are hitting a paltry .220/.278/.339, significantly below the league-average slash line of .244/.312/.400. Their offensive struggles are further highlighted by an OPS+ of 76, indicating they are 24% worse than the league average in getting on base and hitting for power. The team's power outage is underscored by their league-worst total of 127 home runs, with not a single player reaching the 20-home run mark this season. Consequently, they average just 3.07 runs per game, the lowest in the league. By comparison, the Tampa Bay Rays, who rank 29th in runs per game, average 3.78 runs.
Defensively, the White Sox have been equally inept, amassing a league-worst -83 total zone runs. For context, the Miami Marlins, who rank 29th in total zone runs, have -53, while the Brewers and Mariners lead the league with 46 total zone runs each.
The struggles extend to their pitching and overall performance metrics. Erick Fedde, the team's leader in WAR, hasn't pitched since July 27. The White Sox's collective performance in FanGraphs' version of WAR (Wins Above Replacement) stands at a league-worst -6.8, making them the only team with a negative figure. For comparison, the Rockies, who are 29th in WAR, have a positive 4.1.
The White Sox's woes are not confined to a specific locale. Their 16-62 road record is the poorest in the league, with the Rockies having the next fewest road wins at 24. At home, the White Sox's record of 20-58 is again the worst in the league, with the Marlins following 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.
The team's season has been marked by several prolonged slumps, including losing streaks of 21, 14, and 12 straight games. They have also endured additional losing streaks of seven, six, and two stints of five games, one of which is still active. In franchise history, the White Sox had only suffered losing streaks of 12 games or more three times before this season—in 1924, 1927, and 1967.
Since the All-Star break, the White Sox are a woeful 9-49. No team has ever 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.
Even during their "better" months, the White Sox struggled. May and June were their most successful months, each with a 9-19 record. July was particularly dismal, with the team posting a 3-22 record.
In head-to-head matchups, the White Sox managed winning records against only five teams: the Braves (2-1), Rockies (2-1), Cardinals (2-1), Rays (4-2), and Nationals (2-1). Conversely, their performance against the American League Central has been abysmal, with a 12-41 record.
Andrew Vaughn has been a relative bright spot, leading the team in both RBIs and runs with 67 and 54, respectively. However, Vaughn ranks 103rd out of 130 qualifying players in OPS for the batting title.
To say the White Sox's 2024 season has been historically bad would be an understatement. As they limp toward the finish line, the numbers unequivocally point to the worst season in the storied history of Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox.