The Chicago White Sox establish an unwanted record, accumulating the most defeats in a single contemporary MLB campaign.
On Friday, Chicago endured their 121st loss of the season, establishing a new Major League Baseball record for most defeats in a single campaign during the game's modern era (since 1901).
In the fifth inning, the Tigers took the initial lead by scoring the first two runs. Later, Chicago outfielder Zach DeLoach smacked his inaugural MLB home run in the subsequent half-inning, narrowing the gap to a single run.
However, the Tigers responded in the seventh inning to seal the victory and secure the team's first playoff appearance since 2014.
As a result, the Los Angeles Angels now stand alone as baseball's longest active playoff absence.
Chicago's underperformance might have brought some joy to certain spectators in the New York City area.
Previously, the New York Mets stood as the modern-day record holder when they dropped 120 matches in 1962.
The 1899 Cleveland Spiders, who might be forgotten by some, claim the overall record with an astonishing 20-134 loss tally. The Spiders only managed to win a single game in the team's final 41 matches.
Cleveland's failure demonstrated that misfortune can strike any franchise. Their downfall occurred just seven years after pitcher Cy Young led the team to an impressive 93 victories.
The unfortunate trend began at the season's outset when Chicago could only muster three wins in their initial 25 games.
The team would then suffer a dismal 14-match losing streak and later experience a 21-game slump, matching the American League record set by the 1998 Baltimore Orioles.
Infield player Nicky Lopez, a childhood White Sox fan, expressed his feelings to MLB.com, stating: "It's obviously disheartening... We'll all be connected to it. But ultimately, we'll move on, whether I'm here next year or elsewhere."
By the end of 2024, Chicago had amassed just 39 victories.
A silver lining in this season-long struggle is the White Sox social media team's humorous announcements of the team's frequent defeats.
After losing to the San Diego Padres, the team sarcastically announced: "FINAL: check the MLB app for the score."
The previous night's result was humorously summarized as: "FINAL: they scored more runs than us."
Following the Friday night setback that set the infamous new mark, the team posted an image of a sad White Sox mascot, Southpaw, along with a list of activities they'd rather engage in than read comments, and more.
Despite prevailing over the Angels in a series earlier in the week, Chicago's misfortunes could further deepen as they still have two encounters with the Tigers and the season finale remaining.
Contributions to this report were made by CNN's Jacob Lev.
Despite the setback, Chicago fans might find solace in supporting their city's other sports teams, as it's been a challenging season for the Major League Baseball team. The team's dismal sports record this season has undeniably been a topic of discussion in sport conversations.
