CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox lived a full season through the despair, embarrassment and stigma that comes with being the worst team in the history of baseball.
Now, less than a year later, here come the Colorado Rockies who are threatening to obliterate the White Sox’s modern record of 121 losses.
The Rockies, even after their first three-game sweep in 13 months over the Miami Marlins, had a 12-51 record entering June 7 – equaling the worst start in baseball dating back to 1901 – and are on pace to go 30-132 in the brutal NL West.
So, good times on Chicago’s South Side where that 2024 season could vanish into the night and be wiped from the record books?
“I hope they don’t break the record,’ White Sox GM Chris Getz tells USA TODAY Sports. “I don’t wish that upon anyone. I really don’t.’
Come on, really? Not even with a chance to scrub your name from infamy? Not to be linked forever to the 1962 Mets?
“You’d hate to see it, you really would,’ Getz says. “It’s so grueling. You know how much it hurts and don’t wish on anyone.
“That’s not something, that I think, is good for anyone.’
You go around the White Sox clubhouse, and you hear the same sentiment from everyone still around from that horrific season.
“No one wants to see that,’ White Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi says. “You don’t feel for guys while you’re playing, but off the field you do. I know they’re in a pretty tough division, but there’s still a lot of games left. I hope they don’t lose that many games.
“I’m just glad it’s not us again right now.’
It’s not as if the White Sox suddenly are contender with a 22-43 record, but they look like the ’27 Yankees compared to these Rockies.
The Rockies became the third-quickest team to reach 50 losses behind only the 1884 Kansas City Unions and 1876 Cincinnati Red Stockings. They have already had four eight-game losing streaks. They have been swept 10 times and shut out eight times.
The Rockies are going so bad that it was pointed out on social media that golfer Scottie Scheffler’s three PGA victories from May 4-June 1 equaled the Rockies’ win total in that span. The Rockies, after their first series sweep in 57 tries, retaliated by saying their three victories in 72 hours were more than Scheffler’s total for the week. Touche!
“We lost a lot of games last year, but we were in a ton of them, too,’ White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn says. “We were in a lot of close games, a lot of one-run games. But losing those close games made it tough.’
The White Sox were 13-29 in one-run games last season, with 11 walk-off losses. They blew 56 leads last season, including 12 games in which they had at least a three-run cushion.
“Last year it seemed like everything that could go wrong,’ Benintendi says, “did go wrong.’’
It got a whole lot worse when the White Sox dumped everyone they could at the trade deadline, going just 14-50 the second half of the season, with just seven victories combined in July and August.
The Rockies, on the other hand, have been getting blown out on a regular basis until this past week. They’ve lost 13 games by at least five runs in the first two months, with three games by 10 or more runs. The Rockies have already been outscored by 183 runs entering June 7’s game.
“I don’t know what’s better,’ Getz says. “You’re getting teased that you might pull one off here, and then all of a sudden it’s taken away from you. And then there’s the games like the Rockies have had where you’re down early with a fair amount of distance. Those aren’t fun either.’
The Rockies, unlike the White Sox, really don’t have any players besides infielder Ryan McMahon who are expected to attract much trade interest. So, the good news is that it’s quite possible they keep their team intact. The bad news is that they play in the NL West with the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants – and are already 25 ½ games out of first place.
So as embarrassing it may be, it provides the Rockies plenty of time to look in the mirror for a reality check.
“Sometimes, when you’re going through something like this,’ Getz says, “it’s an opportunity to learn more about your organization and where you need to take it. We took advantage of that last year. It allowed us to clear a runway to make some decisions that we felt like would help us in the future.
“My message to them is that although you’re going to endure something that is not easy, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Take advantage of the situations where you identify areas that you really, truly need to improve, and go ahead and attack it.’
The key, the White Sox will tell the Rockies when they see them July 4-6 at Coors Field, is to not let the mounting losses become such a mental burden, leaving you defeated before even stepping onto the field.
“I know what they’re going through, it’s tough,’ says White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas, who got the bad break of being traded from the Dodgers to the White Sox at last year’s deadline. “You’re blessed to play in the big leagues, you put in the work, you try to win every day, and it doesn’t happen.
“It’s such a tough game, but you can’t let it get you down.’
Certainly, the Rockies didn’t have any expectations of contending this year. Maybe they were hoping not to lose 100 games for the third consecutive season. Maybe they were hoping to at least be within 10 games of a wild-card berth entering September. But it’s not as if they were Atlanta or Baltimore with World Series aspirations and are suddenly in disbelief with a losing record.
“The biggest thing is you have to stay focused on getting better each day,’ says Vaughn, who was recently demoted to Class AAA. “You got to make each day important. You have to work on something to improve on each day, and not let anything get in the way. That’s the biggest thing.’
It’s no different than for the manager, coaching staff, front office executives and ticket sales reps, reminding yourselves that as painful as these losses are now, it will make winning feel that much better.
There was a time when the Houston Astros were a laughingstock, too, losing 106, 107 and 111 games three consecutive seasons from 2011-2013. Since 2017, they’ve reached the postseason eight consecutive years with two World Series titles and four pennants.
“Although we knew last year wasn’t going to be a good season in regard to our record,’ Getz said, “there were still opportunities to add players at the deadline or areas to improve in the organization. So, you take a step back and try to emotionally stay big-picture focused. In doing so, it allows you to work through it and find the positives, even though they’re not showing up on your major-league club.
“But we were able to highlight some areas that we felt could help us long term, and I hope they’ve got situations like that as well.’
Who knows, maybe one day, maybe years and years from now, the White Sox and Rockies can each look back and remind themselves that the pain they endured paved the way to future glory.
Maybe they can even laugh about it.
Or maybe, they will never ever talk about it.
“The big thing is,’ Vaughn says, “to forget about it. It happened in the past. I don’t think about it anymore.
“Really, why would you want to?’
Paying it forward
Paul Olden, 71, the New York Yankees public address announcer, was moved when he read that former major league player Eric Anthony discovered that former Dodgers great Willie Davis was his father.
Olden reached out to Anthony last week, and the two talked for nearly 20 minutes as Olden got off the subway and walked into Yankee Stadium.
He told Anthony that he had a present for him.
Olden, who grew up in Los Angeles and was a huge fan of Davis, had one of Davis’ broken bats from his historic 31-game hitting streak in 1969, which remains a Dodgers record.
The bat had remained in an umbrella holder in Davis’ home all of these years.
Now, it will have a new home.
“I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment from owning a bat from a childhood hero,’’ Olden said. “Now it is time to pass it on to someone who needs it more than I do.’
Olden told Anthony his favorite memories about his father, sharing picturesx` and stories when they were together after Davis’ retirement.
“It shows what kind of person Paul Olden is,’ Anthony said. “To care about wanting me to have that bat shows he is selfless. I appreciate very much Paul’s generosity.
“I will keep and cherish that bat for the rest of my days.’
Olden, who has been with the Yankees since they moved to their new ballpark in 2009, came up as a radio reporter and then a broadcaster for the Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Angels, Cleveland Guardians, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, New York Jets, New Jesey Nets and UCLA. He also was the PA announcer for 12 consecutive Super Bowls. He became famous for being the radio reporter who asked Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda what he thought of Dave Kingman’s performance – when he hit three homers against the Dodgers in 1978 – launching into a profanity-laden tirade.
Olden can’t recall quite how he got possession of Davis’ bat more than a half-century ago, but it stayed with him no matter how many times he moved.
“I knew a lot of people inside the Dodgers,’ Olden said. “I sold programs at Dodger Stadium. I was always at the stadium. We used to hang out after games with the Dodger players after games in the parking lot, Lot 5. That was a close-knit group. Well, someone got word that Willie was my favorite Dodger, and I somehow got the bat.
“I made connections with him long after his playing days at the Santa Anita racetrack when they named a race after him. I kept that bat all of these years. I used to practice my golf swing with it, put weighted donuts on it to build my arm strength. It’s been my steady companion most of my broadcast career.
“I loved the bat.
“But now, well, it’s time for Eric to have it.’’
D-backs disaster
The Arizona Diamondbacks continue to be snakebitten when it comes to signing free-agent starters, and you wonder how hesitant they’ll be to ever again swim in the deep free-agent waters for starting pitchers.
They wanted to keep up with the Dodgers when they signed former Cy Young pitcher Corbin Burnes to a franchise-record six-year, $210 million contract in December, only for Burnes to need Tommy John surgery. It ends this season, and maybe 2026, too.
It’s just the latest calamity for the Diamondbacks.
Their last four marquee signings:
Corbin Burnes: 6 years, $210 million. 11 starts: 3-2, 2.66 ERA.
Jordan Montgomery: 2 years, $47.5 million. 21 starts: 8-7, 6.23 ERA.
Eduardo Rodriguez: 4 years, $80 million. 19 starts, 4-7, 5.99 ERA.
Madison Bumgarner (in 2020-24): 5 years, $85 million. 69 starts, 15-32, 5.23 ERA.
Montgomery underwent Tommy John surgery this spring and Rodriguez is 1-3 with a 7.05 ERA this season.
Burnes’ injury all but assures he’ll remain in Arizona for the final four years and $140 million of his contract instead of exercising his opt out after the 2026 season.
It also means the Diamondbacks have to re-sign either Zac Gallen or Merill Kelly, who are free agents at the season’s conclusion, if they plan to remain competitive.
Can you spare some runs?
Since the Pirates won’t trade ace Paul Skenes, can he least file a lawsuit against his employers for failure to provide run support?.
Skenes, 4-6 with a 2.05 ERA, has allowed only 19 earned runs in 13 starts this year, but the Pirates have somehow lost eight of those games.
In his last five starts, he is yielding a 1.04 ERA, and has just one victory.
In his last seven starts, he has a 1.77 ERA, and the Pirates are 2-5.
Skenes is the first pitcher to lose twice in a single season while allowing no more than one run or walk with eight or more strikeouts in eight innings since Pedro Martinez in 2000, and only the third in the last 111 years.
Incredibly, he still has yet to give up more than six hits in any of his 36 career starts with a 2.00 ERA, but has only 15 victories while the Pirates have gone 20-16.
“Unfortunately,’ Skenes told reporters after his last start, “it’s baseball.’’
And unfortunately, nothing may change the next 4 ½ years he remains under the Pirates’ control.
Around the basepaths
– Despite Atlanta’s frustrating season in which they’re in danger of missing the postseason for the first time since 2017, manager Brian Snitker’s job appears to be safe for the remainder of the season. He has led Atlanta to seven consecutive postseasons and a World Series championship. Snitker’s contract expires after this year when he’s expected to retire as manager and then move into a special assistant role.
Snitker, who has spent 49 years with the organization, deserves to be wildly cheered when he’s introduced during the All-Star Game pregame introductions in Atlanta on Dave Roberts’ NL coaching staff.
– There’s a tremendous amount of frustration in Texas these days with the Rangers’ struggling offense. Future Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy is in the last year of his contract and also is considering walking away after the season. If he retires, former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker is the favorite to be his replacement.
– The Boston Red Sox may be playing sloppy and mediocre baseball, but manager Alex Cora’s job is safe.
– The Philadelphia Phillies, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres are expected to be the most aggressive teams at the trade deadline. The Phillies will be looking for a center fielder and bullpen help, the Mariners are once again desperate for offense, the Cubs are seeking a front-line starter and relievers, and the Padres are searching for a left fielder.
– No matter where Atlanta is at the trade deadline, the team isn’t expected to be a seller – with the possible exception of DH Marcell Ozuna, who’s a free agent after the season.
Atlanta still has a fabulous young nucleus, Cy Young winner Chris Sale back for another season, a healthy Spencer Strider and MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. a year removed from ACL surgery.
– Just when the buzzards started hovering over the Orioles – hoping to grab starters Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano, closer Felix Bautista and center fielder Cedric Mullins – Baltimore pulled off a six-game winning streak.
The Orioles’ talented young offense could keep them in the wild-card race.
– Scouts say that the talent in this year’s amateur draft is down, particularly at the college level, but that the 2026 draft has a chance to be phenomenal.
– The White Sox, who had a chance to trade center fielder Luis Robert for prospects last winter, badly need him to start performing or they could be stuck with him and his $15 million contract for the rest of season. He has two $20 million club options that certainly won’t be picked up unless he has a magical second half.
– MLB officials are optimistic that the roof will be repaired at Tropicana Field – at the tune of about $56 million – in time for the Rays to open the 2026 season where they will remain at least through 2028.
– After trading All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker and allowing Gold Glove third baseman Alex Bregman to walk, the Astros are back in first place and could be the team to beat in the AL West.
– The Tucker trade has worked out quite nicely for both sides. While Tucker is hitting .283 with 12 homers and 45 RBIs for the Cubs, third baseman Isaac Paredes is hitting .242 with 14 homers and 37 RBIs and rookie outfielder Cam Smith is hitting .245 with three homers and 18 RBIs for the Astros.
– White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, 89, erased all of the speculation that the White Sox would be up for sale any time soon, but does have a succession plan in place beginning in 2029, or perhaps even 2034 when he will turn 98 years old.
Reinsdorf, who has been hounded by minority owner Justin Ishbia for years to sell controlling interest of the club, finally agreed to potentially sell it to him beginning in 2029, but not a single day earlier. If Reinsdorf or his family still own the team in 2034, Ishbia has the right to purchase the club without Reinsdorf’s approval. In exchange, Ishbia is contributing capital this year and in 2026. The plan was put in place months ago, as The Athletic’s Jon Greenberg reported, but was not announced until the final day of the owners’ meetings on Thursday.
The Chicago Bulls, owned by Reinsdorf, will remain in the family where his son, Michael, is president and COO.
– Ever so quietly, four of the five players who were suspended a year ago for gambling on baseball were reinstated this week. Tucupita Marcano, who bet on games in which he was playing, still is banned for life.
The other four:
LHP Andrew Saalfrank of the Arizona Diamondbacks and RHP Michael Kelly of the Athletics both rejoined their teams, with Kelly immediately joining the A’s bullpen and Saalfrank sent to the D-backs’ minor-league complex.
LHP Jay Groome of the San Diego Padres and infielder Jose Rodriguez of the Philadelphia Phillies were immediately non-tendered.
– The majority of players, managers and coaches aren’t in favor of having the automatic ball-strike (ABS) challenge system put in place for the 2026 season and hope to wait at least another year, but commissioner Rob Manfred said he hopes it’s implemented next season.
The competition committee consists of 11 people – six major league officials, four player representatives, and one umpire. So even if the players all vote against it as expected, it could still pass if the league officials all approve.
– The Pirates already are drawing interest in versatile infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
– The Miami Marlins actually lost money this week just staffing baseball games at their ballpark against the Colorado Rockies.
Their total paid attendance for the three-game series: 19,768.
– Classy gesture from Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson, who told the Seattle Mariners that he’d be honored to have his jersey No. 51 retired, but only if it occurs next season so that it doesn’t interfere with Ichiro Suzuki’s Hall of Fame celebration this year.
He also wanted to remind Mariners fans that he did not leave Seattle of his own volition but was traded to Houston in July 1998. He signed a four-year, $52 million contract with the Diamondbacks that offseason, and then won four consecutive Cy Young awards and a World Series. It’s considered perhaps greatest return on a multiyear contract in free agency history.
“I was traded,’ Johnson said. “I didn’t walk away. I think that is something I hear from fans still occasionally.’
– Eyewear companies should be beating down Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy’s door for advertisements.
Muncy was hitting .180 with no homers, four RBIs and a .531 OPS in the first 28 games of this season before he tried wearing glasses.
Since the glasses? He’s hitting .268 with nine homers, 31 RBIs and a .991 OPS.
– New York Yankees reliever Mark Leiter Jr. can’t stop raving about the impact Aaron Judge has had on him and everyone in the Yankees clubhouse.
“He’s unbelievable,’’ Leiter said. “He’s the best player on the planet, but he’s even a better person. You already know how good he is as a player, but he blows you away what kind of person he is, what kind of leader he is, and makes every single guy in the room feel good. Pretty special human being. It’s an honor to be his teammate, to be honest with you.’
– Does any bullpen have more fun than the Minnesota Twins?
When they arrive, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, they pull out cans of Red Bull, gather around in a circle, drop to one knee, with bullpen catcher Frank Nigro then pouring a shot of Red Bull into their mouths. Nigro proceeds by throwing empty cans against the wall before a fiery speech.
– How historic was the D-backs’ 11-10 victory last week over Atlanta after trailing 10-4 entering the ninth inning?
It was the first time Atlanta lost a game when leading by six or more runs after eight innings since July 17, 1973, spanning 766 games.
And it was the first time Arizona had a comeback of six or more runs in the ninth in franchise history having gone 0-419.
– Boston Red Sox starter Walker Buehler, who signed a one-year, $21.05 million contract, realizes that he hardly has lived up to expectations with his 4-4 record and 5.18 ERA in 10 starts.
“This organization put a lot of faith in me this offseason,’ Buehler told reporters after lasting just two innings in his last start, “and I’ve been [expletive] embarrassing for us.’
Then again, how do you think fellow Red Sox starter Lucas Giolito feels?
He signed a two-year, $37 million deal after the 2023 season, missed all of last season after elbow surgery, and now is 1-1 with a 6.42 ERA, pitching just 32 ⅔ innings in seven starts.
– Pretty cool for former Angels starter Clyde Wright, who began coaching Kyle Hendricks when he was 12 years old, to be at Angels Stadium to congratulate Hendricks on winning his 100th career game Friday night, matching Wright.
“I told him, it only took 23 years after our first lesson,’ Hendricks told reporters.
– The Dodgers have become a traveling secretary’s worst nightmare this season, much less manager Dave Roberts’. They have made 22 transactions through the first week of June, and have already employed 13 different starting pitchers. They have had 20 pitchers go on the injured list, and still have 15 on it. Their bullpen leads the major leagues in innings pitched (270) while their starters have thrown the second-fewest innings.
“Not ideal,’ Roberts says.
– The Yankees, who are pulling away in the AL East, soon are expected to have slugger Giancarlo Stanton back for the first time this season. Stanton is scheduled to undergo a rehab assignment next week.
– No one is winning at small ball more than the San Diego Padres. They have won an MLB-leading 22 games this season when scoring no more than two runs, with 11 shutout victories.
– Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who has an MLB-leading 24 home runs, also has become the first to volunteer for this year’s Home Run Derby in Atlanta. Raleigh is halfway to Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez’s record for homers by a catcher with 48 in 2021.
– Don’t look now, but here come those homeless Tampa Bay Rays once again.
They entered Saturday with a 13-3 record since May 20 with the pitching staff yielding a 1.96 ERA. They have held opponents to four or fewer runs in 17 consecutive games.
If the season ended today, they would be in the postseason, but with no idea where they’d play their home games.
– Max Fried is doing his best Ron Guidry impersonation since joining the Yankees. He’s 8-1 with a 1.78 ERA in 13 starts this season, and is 21-3 with a 1.67 ERA in 30 career starts against the American League.
In Guidry’s first 13 starts of the 1978 season, he was 10-0 with a 1.57 ERA, finishing the season with a 25-3 record and 1.74 ERA.
– Everyone is telling Atlanta ace Spencer Strider that he needs to be patient just four starts into his return after undergoing elbow surgery 14 months ago.
Sorry, but Strider (0-4, 5.68 ERA) refuses to listen.
“I don’t have the ability to be patient, honestly,’ Strider told reporters. “We’ve got to win games, and when it’s my turn to pitch, I’ve got to give us a chance to win. If I can’t do that, then I don’t know what value I’m providing, besides reps.”
– Remember when Phillies starter Jesus Luzardo was cruising along with a 5-0 record and a 2.25 ERA in his first 11 starts, giving up a total of just 19 runs?
Well, he has given up 20 earned runs in his last two starts alone, recording just 17 outs.
It is the most runs given up in back-to-back starts by a Phillies pitcher since Bill Hubbell in 1922.
– Veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel’s return to Atlanta lasted all of one game. He was DFA’d after giving up one hit and one walk in one inning.
– Just when you think it’s impossible to make Shohei Ohtani look bad at the plate, along comes Mets starter David Peterson.
Ohtani’s last seven at-bats against Peterson: five strikeouts and two singles.
– How did Fredi Gonzalez celebrate his return to Atlanta as the third base coach after being dismissed as manager in 2016? Gonzalez and manager Brian Snitker drove to see their mentor, Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox, at his home in Atlanta.
– Kansas City Royals rookie Jac Caglianone, who made his major-league debut this week in St. Louis, certainly has had a whirlwind tour these past 12 months.
He has played for the Florida Gators, Quad City River Bandits, Surprise Saguaros, Northwest Arkansas Naturals, Omaha Storm Chasers and now the Royals.
– The Cincinnati Reds may want to start lobbying to be placed in a different division away from the Milwaukee Brewers when MLB undergoes realignment. The Reds have lost 20 of their last 25 games to the Brewers in Cincinnati, and 30 of 40 games overall.
– There’s nothing more entertaining than listening to Angels manager Ron Washington’s pregame media sessions, and he delivered a beaut this past week in Boston.
“I still have my passion because there’s so much youth in the game today and they need guys like me,’ Washington, 73, said. “We are a dying breed. I’m not talking about the managing part of it. I’m talking about trying to get them to understand how the game is played, how you come out here every day and give your best, how you become a great teammate.
“All of that stuff is part of baseball, but the glamour stuff has taken over. Back in the day, if you hit a home run and you do what these kids do today, you’d get one in the neck. And everybody in baseball knows it was going to happen.”
And just how long does Washington plan to stick around?
“It’s simple, I’m going to leave the game of baseball when Ron Washington is ready,” he said. “Think I’m going to let some 20- or 19- or 22-year-old run me out of the game of baseball? What I do, I’ll adjust. I’m not going to change who I am. When I feel like I can’t do that, then I’ll go home.’’
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