The Chicago White Sox are on the brink of making history for all the wrong reasons as the 2024 Major League Baseball season nears its conclusion. With just one week left and a 36-120 record, they are on the edge of finishing with the worst record in modern baseball history, a dubious distinction they currently share with the 1962 New York Mets.
In a season that can only be described as disastrous, the White Sox's offensive and defensive metrics paint a bleak picture. The team’s collective batting average stands at .220, complemented by an on-base percentage of .278 and a slugging percentage of .339. These figures are well below the league-average slash line of .244/.312/.400. Their meager OPS+ of 76 indicates they are 24% below the league average in offensive production. It's no surprise, then, that the team has struggled to bring runs across the plate, averaging just 3.07 runs per game—the lowest in the league. For perspective, the 29th ranked Tampa Bay Rays are averaging 3.78 runs per game.
One glaring issue has been their lack of power hitting. The White Sox have hit only 127 home runs this season, the fewest in the league, and not a single player has managed to reach the 20-home run mark. Andrew Vaughn has been the team’s brightest spot offensively, leading the team in both RBIs (67) and runs (54), but even his performance falls short, ranking 103rd out of 130 qualifying players in OPS for the batting title.
Defensively, the White Sox have been equally inept, with a league-worst -83 total zone runs. For comparison, the Miami Marlins, who are second to last in this metric, have a total of -53 total zone runs. The Brewers and Mariners lead the league with a positive 46 total zone runs, highlighting the gulf between the White Sox and the top defensive teams.
Pitching has offered no respite. Erick Fedde, the team's leader in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), hasn't pitched since July 27. As a team, the White Sox's cumulative FanGraphs WAR is a dismal -6.8, making them the only team with a negative figure. The Colorado Rockies are second to last but still manage a positive 4.1 WAR.
The team’s road and home performances have been historically poor. With a 16-62 record on the road and a 20-58 record at home, both figures rank as the worst in the league. Prior to this season, the White Sox had never lost more than 55 games on the road or 53 games at home in a single season.
Losing streaks have become a haunting theme for the White Sox this year. They endured slumps of 21, 14, and 12 consecutive losses, along with streaks of seven and six, and two stretches of five straight losses—one of which is still active. Historically, the team had only experienced losing streaks of 12 games or more three times: in 1924, 1927, and 1967.
Since the All-Star break, the White Sox have posted a 9-49 record. This lackluster performance threatens to set a new record for the fewest wins in a full second half of a season. Currently, the lowest number of post-All-Star break wins stands at 15, a record held by the Athletics in both 1915 and 1943.
Even looking at the season month by month offers little solace. Their best performances were in May and June, where they posted identical 9-19 records. July was particularly brutal, with the team managing only three wins against 22 losses. Despite these struggles, the White Sox somehow managed winning records against a few teams, including the Braves (2-1), Rockies (2-1), Cardinals (2-1), Rays (4-2), and Nationals (2-1). However, they fared poorly against their AL Central rivals, with a 12-41 record.
As the season mercifully winds down, the 2024 Chicago White Sox are set to go down as the worst team in the franchise's history, a title they will hold without much contest. Their failure across multiple facets of the game—offense, defense, and pitching—ensures that this is a season fans and players alike will look to forget.